Percy Jackson and the Requiators
by M.J. Lyte
Summary: Amadeus was considered to be one of the most lethal mercenaries of his era; that is, until he is tricked and imprisoned by a mysterious cult. Freeing himself and 3 vengeance-seeking demis, they have set out on a mission to find and destroy this cult's leader. Meanwhile, Percy and the others receive a prophecy about an ancient cult. What happens when the 7 meet the Requiators?
1. Chapter 1

Amadeus awoke to a peculiar sound screeching right outside of his tiny, one- room house. He opened his eyes and looked around skeptically.

"Ποιος φτιάχνει στιφάδο γάτας?" he questioned. He sat up and stretched, pulling his clothes on, humming as he did. Today, he was going to a job interview. In ancient Greek times, jobs that paid livable wages were hard to come by. His house was very generic; there were at least a dozen of houses just like his lining the road. The inside of the house wasn't much better; a wooden table with one chair, a wooden framed bed. He ate a quick breakfast of bread and wine, then proceeded to get dresses for the day. He strapped his favorite weapons to his sides in a pair of custom-made sheaths; a pair of Chinese butterfly swords. They held a special meaning to him; he's had them since he can remember. As far as he knew, they were a gift from his father, whom he had never met. He stepped out of his little sandstone house, taking in a deep breath.

"Good morning Athens!!" he yelled happily. An old merchant scoffed as he rolled his cart by.

"Everybody's a critic." Amadeus grumbled. He was dressed in the normal 8th century clothing; a himation over top of a doric chiton, and a worn pair of sandals. He began walking down the dusty trail that was the street, heading towards the center of town. As he got nearer the town, the road turned to a white stone, and all of the buildings followed suit. Men, women and children were walking all around to various little shops set up all along the road. Fruit stands, blacksmiths, and others were screaming and yelling about their sales being the 'best in Athens', or the 'Greatest in all of Greece.' Amadeus ignored them as he headed to a specific building, one that could be seen from anywhere in the town; The Parthenon, temple of Athena. He briskly walked through the crowd, and headed around the back of the building. Behind it was a tiny stone building, not unlike his own house. Hidden behind the greatness of the temple, it could have easily been missed. But Amadeus knew exactly where he was going. This was his meeting place, this was where he would get his...customers. If someone had a supernatural problem, and no other hero would help, for the right price, some of Amadeus' "business contacts" would make sure the person was telling the truth, then send them there to meet him. He knocked on the door 3 rhythmic times, and heard footsteps inside. His hand instinctively went to one one of his blades. But when the door was opened, he was met by the face of a scared face of a girl who couldn't be past 25. She had lightly tanned olive skin, long, sleek, black hair, and deep blue eyes. She was wearing similar clothing to his own, and looked like she hadn't slept in days. She just stood in the middle of the room with Amadeus, eyeing him up and down, but trying not to make it obvious. Amadeus was quite the interesting young man to say the least. He was 5'8", and at 15 years old that wasn't really normal. He was very built for his age, with the body of a runner; lean thin muscle adorning his tall frame. He looked to be about 130 pounds. His hair was thin, straight, and honey blonde. His skin was almost the same as hers, a slightly darker olive tan. His face was more diamond shaped, but the most interesting thing about his appearance was his eyes. They were a glowing golden color that looked as shiny as a new drachma. After a few moments, Amadeus coughed lightly, and the girl looked up.

"Um, I take it you're my client?" Amadeus asked cautiously. The girl looked at him with curiosity and shock in her eyes.

"You...you're the..."

"Hitman for hire?" He chuckled. "Yeah... that's me." He answered. He pulled out one of his swords, and started spinning it, leaning against the wooden table.

"So... I heard that you," He said, a sly smile plastered on his face as he gestured at her with his sword.

"Are having a little bit of a problem." He finished. She gulped and nodded. Amadeus pulled out a chair and plopped himself down, putting his feet on the table as he continued spinning his blade. The girl stood awkwardly in place, shuffling her feet. Amadeus rolled his eyes and gestured to the other seat. She timidly took a seat, caressing the wrinkles out of her clothes.

"Yes, well... um ... it's about my brother." She began, stealing a glance at Amadeus, who was twiddling his sword and humming. When she stopped talking, he looked up, arching an eyebrow.

"I'm listening!" he insisted, the smirk returning. She swallowed and continued.

"Well, it all started about 2 years ago. Damon had this... 'friend', who was doing things he ought not do. He and Damon started spending quite a bit of time together, and I was getting worried. I... I told Damon that he should stop spending so much time around him, Damon wouldn't listen. One day, Damon and his friend were out later than usual, and I went to look for them where they usually spent the evening, but they weren't there. I looked all night and... nothing." She stuttered, a single tear rolling down her cheek. Amadeus looked up at her, the sly smirk melting into a sympathetic smile. "That was a week ago." She finished.

"...And you want me to go find him?" Amadeus asked. The girl nodded slowly.

"But this isn't just a search and find, is it?" He questioned. He looked her right in the eye, digging through her very soul trying to find the truth.

"There's something you're not telling me. I can only work for an employer who is willing to tell me the truth. The WHOLE truth." He finished seriously. She looked at him like he had just riffled through her diary. He looked back equally as serious. After a brief moment, she sighed.

"His friend, Conon... he was in... in a cult." She said quietly. Amadeus put his feet down, and his blade back into its sheath, leaning his elbows onto the table.

"What kind of... cult?" He asked seriously, a glint of excitement in his eyes. The girl looked at the wall to her left refusing to make eye contact with him.

"The... the Συνδικάτο. He was in with the Syndikato." She whispered. Amadeus sat back, leaning into his hands.

"The Syndikato... intriguing." He said enthusiastically. The girl looked at him like he was insane. His voice sounded completely normal on the surface; calm, even, level. But if you listened close enough, you could hear it. The slightest tinge of insanity and absolute disconnect from reality; a man with not a care in the world, least of all his own safety. As the girl sat there thinking about this kid's sanity, Amadeus sat back, deep in thought. Finally, he stood up.

"Ok." he said resolutely. The girl's head shot up like she had just been electrocuted, Her eyes met with his, Amadeus' ever-so-classic sly smirk.

"Ok? You'll... you'll still try and find him?" She asked hopefully. Amadeus stood up and stretched, his joints popping as he did.

"Sure, I'll find him." He yawned, cracking his neck. The girl stared at him, trying to figure him out.

"Wait... so where's your team?" She asked looking around. Amadeus looked at her like she had just grown another head.

"Team? This isn't the Olympics, lady." He explained. She looked at him like he truly was crazy

"You don't... It's just you?!?" She asked in astonishment.

"Nope. Just me." he said resolutely. He walked over to the door, as though their business was already finished. The girl stood up with him, more confused than when she had first entered.

"But... but you're one man." She tried. He bent over to fix his sandal.

"Yep." He affirmed.

"They... They're an army! How is one boy going to face them alone?" she asked flabbergasted. He stood up and turned to face her jerkily, looking off into the distance, as though he had just thought of that. He pulled out his sword mindlessly and began to twirl it once again.

"Hmmmm... I don't rightfully know." He admitted.

"You're telling me that you...just you... are going to go out and start hunting the most dangerous cult Greece had ever known..without a plan?" She asked, waiting for him to tell her this was all some big joke, and to call in the rest of his team. She had heard the rumors of what this 'mysterious mercenary' could do; the tales of how he had fought and bested the Minotaur and the Hydra, how he was the only hero to have ever made it through the Labyrinth alone... maybe that's why he seemed a bit... off. But she had always chalked it up to rumors, and assumed that this 'lone merc' had to actually be a team of hitmen. But Amadeus just smiled and raised his eyebrows.

"Exciting isn't it?" He raved. He stepped out the door, closing it loudly, leaving her all alone in the dark room. A few seconds later, the door opened, and he stepped back inside the room. He stuck out his hand abruptly.

"Can't exactly work for someone when I don't even know their name." he explained. She laughed nervously and took his hand.

"Astraea. My name's Astraea." She said timidly.

"Amadeus, at your service... though you'd best not tell anyone you've hired me. My services... well... let's just say they aren't exactly smiled upon." He explained. He walked back over to the door once more.

"I'll have one of my contacts send for you once I've found and retrieved your brother. We'll discuss payment once my job is done."

"Wh.. how will I know if you didn't make it?" She asked just before he left. He paused, as though giving it some thought,

"If I'm dead?" He questioned quietly, a serious look on his face. Then, he smiled smugly and shrugged.

"You'll know. Because if that happens, the Underworld is gonna freeze over." He chuckled.

"Bye!!" He called behind him as he closed the door. The girl stood still for a moment, before shaking her head in disbelief.

"This guy's crazy! What am I doing?" She asked herself, before leaving the house herself.


	2. Chapter 2

Amadeus prepared to set out on yet another mission. This wasn't the first time that he had been on a crazy adventure. in fact, his whole life had been one big escapade. He was always prepared for another adventure. He got back to his house, walking into his 'room', which was just the corner of his house with his bed stuck in it. He marched over to his mattress and opened a secret flap on the underside, pulling out a makeshift journal of papyrus sheets with writing all over them. After years and years of doing his job, Amadeus had surmounted quite the list of people who owed him a favor or two, and people who could give him information. He started keeping a journal of sorts. He started shuffling through them, looking for one in particular.

"Lets see... hoplite... no... blacksmith...no... merchant, archer, royal guard... ah! Cult leader there we go!" He yelled to himself in triumph. He started scanning down the list with his finger, until he finally came to a stop on the Συνδικάτο.

"There you are." He grinned happily. He scanned the list of names next to it, until he found the one he wanted.

"Myrto Kalkanis." He whispered to himself wildly, a look of insanity in his eyes. He gently pulled the paper out of his 'notebook', folding it, and placing it in a hidden pocket in his chiton.

"You owe me a favor, big guy," He said to no one in particular as he strapped on his armor.

"Time to call it in." He began making his way back to the center of town, then started looking around. He pulled the paper back out, looking for a specific location to look for this contact. Apparently, he had relocated his shop across town, probably to try to get away from Amadeus. Amadeus smiled wickedly, the prospect of dropping in uninvitedly and unexpectedly on his 'old friend'. He always kept tabs on his people, so that even if they tried to move or get away, he could always find them again.

"Ah... I had forgotten that you had moved, Myrt." He said to himself.

"Guess business must be better across town." He thought slyly. He started his way across town to Myrto's Merchandise. Myrto himself was manning the stand that particular day. Amadeus could always tell when Myrto was working; he screamed out much louder than all of the other merchants on the block. Amadeus loved it; no middle man. He briskly strolled over to his stand, pretending to be interested in some of his fruit as the line moved along. He caught a glimpse of Myrto through the crowd. He was a fat, middle-aged man. Most of his brown and gray hair was gone, his hairline retreating to the back of his head. He was wearing a very worn looking chiton, and his eyes were bloodshot red. Myrto was known around town for two things; His excellent foods and his incessant drinking. Soon, all of the customers had bought their food and cleared out to the next stand. When Myrto saw Amadeus, his red eyes grew wide, and sweat was already forming on his brow. Amadeus smiled at him coyly.

"Hey, Myrt. Long time no see." He said sweetly... too sweetly. Myrto swallowed hard and pulled at the collar of his chiton.

"A...Amadeus! What a surprise! What can I interest you in today?" He asked nervously, pretending he didn't know why Amadeus was there. Amadeus tapped his chin in thought.

"Hmmmm... I'll take 2 melons, I heard this batch is really nice... Um... 2...no... 3 loaves of your bread, 2 bottles of your Grechetto wine... oh man you always have the good stuff, Myrt! Those last 2 bottles were SO good, I just have to get more!" He exclaimed. With Amadeus, you could never tell what he really wanted until he told you. For all Myrto knew, Amadeus really HAD made the trip all the way out to his merchant's stand just to buy groceries... he was crazy like that.

"Ok, that'll be 9000 drachm..."

"Oh, and one more thing, Myrt. I'm also going to need any information you have on the Συνδικάτο."

"Hey, Amadeus, look; I...I gave up that business. Since last time, with the whole poisonous grapes thing, I've been clean. I don't know anything, honest!" Myrto insisted. Amadeus shook his head, as though he believed every word.

"Ok, Myrto, ok. We can do things the hard way if you REALLY want to..." Amadeus said calmly, his hand hover just over his left-side blade. Myrto's eyes darted from the sword to Amadeus' face, then back to the sword.

"Now Amadeus, come on! We...we go way back! I really don't know anything about the Syndikato!" The man plead as Amadeus backed him into his shop, pulling out his blade and spinning it around in circles and humming as he advanced, the same maniacal grin plastered on his face. Myrto backed up until he was backed into the corner and had nowhere else to go.

"Amadeus, please! Don't do this! I'd tell you if I knew, you know that!" Myrto continued to beg. Amadeus shook his head in disbelief

"You see, here's the thing Myrt; I don't think you would if it meant snitching on another contact. Especially one as big as the Syndikato. No, I think...no... I KNOW you would keep that information from me. Now, there's 2 ways we can go about this, big guy," He explained as he closed the gap between them.

"One, you can tell me exactly what I want to know, and be on your happy way down to the taverna in time for the chug-off... and we both know you LOVE the chug off." Amadeus laughed. Myrto was frozen in place, his eyes glued to Amadeus blade. Amadeus followed his gaze, then looked up, his smirk deepening.

"Or, you could... not... tell me, and this will be the last place you'll ever see. Your choice Myrto." His smiled stayed the same, but his eyes looked a little...twisted. He admired his blade for a few moments, then looked Myrto right in the eyes.

"Your move, tubby." He said threateningly.

"Amadeus, look, we can talk this out, you know? Like gentl..." Myrto began. He didn't even finish his sentence before he felt a blade stab into the wall right above his balding head. One of Amadeus' Butterfly swords was sticking into the wall, a few strands of Myrto's hair pinned with them. Myrto whimpered as Amadeus tisked.

"Myrto, Myrto, Myrto... You see, that's not what I wanted to hear. I thought you of all people would know a good business deal when you see it." He said in mock sadness, turning his back on a traumatized Myrto. When he turned back to face him, Myrto was visibly shaking. Amadeus crouched down and looked Myrto right in the eyes.

"Now, I'm not going to ask you twice nicely." He warned. He reached up and yanked his blade out of the wall roughly, causing Myrto to cry out in fear. Amadeus leaned right next to Myrto's ear.

"And you and I both know the next one won't miss." He whispered. Finally, Myrto snapped

"OK OK!! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW! Just... let me live... please let me live!" he begged. Amadeus pat him on the top of of his head.

"Now we're talkin turkey, Myrto!" He exclaimed, resheathing his blade. Myrto ran his hands through the remains of his hair, letting out an exasperated breath. Amadeus leaned up against the wall, looking down on him, waiting for the information. After a few moments, Myrto regained most of his composure and began.

"Alright, Amadeus. You really want to get on the Syndikato's bad side? Fine. The Syndikato is a deeper organization than people know. Common folk just believe it is a cult, and I guess you could say that they're right. But there's more to them than that. They aren't just a cult; they are a group of vicious killers, who answer only to their leader." Myrto explained.

"Their leader, huh? Got a name for me, Myrt?" Amadeus questioned eagerly. Myrto shook his head.

"This guy's a ghost. No one has ever seen him, not even members of the Syndikato. They're told to address him as 'Pi'.

"Ohh… and so we add a mystery element to this already electrifying little game. I'm liking where this one is headed!" Amadeus slapped his hands together and rubbed them excitedly.

"And where, my dear Myrto, might one find this oh-so-elusive little troop?" he asked. Myrto looked around, as though he feared someone was watching. He motioned for Amadeus to follow him, and led him into the back room.

"Look, I want to help you, Amadeus, i really do. But if word gets leaked out that I told you where to find the Syndikato…. They'll off me for sure!" He whisper-yelled fearfully. Amadeus cocked an eyebrow and smirked at him. Amadeus looked around, as if to make sure it was just the 2 of them, then gestured to Myrto.

"Come here Myrto…..closer,closer." Amadeus instructed. He cupped his hand next to Myrto's ear.

"This'll be our little secret." He promised. Myrto nodded in understanding. Amadeus may be borderline psychotic, but when he made a promise, you could be sure he would keep it.

"Alright, Amadeus. Fine." Myrto gave in. He waddled over to the window, Amadeus following. He pointed out towards the horizon.

"There's rumors of a cave, hidden somewhere in those mountains. Now, the entrance is hidden with some kind of magic invisibility spell; probably to keep people like you out." Myrto explained. The last part did nothing but make Amadeus smile widen.

"If you're looking for the Syndikato, that's your best bet." Myrto finished, fishing out his handkerchief and wiping his brow. Amadeus turned to Myrto and stuck out his hand, Myrto shaking it cautiously.

"See, Myrt; that wasn't so hard, was it?" He declared. When their hands separated, Myrto was surprised to feel something in his palm. It was a black, velvety little bag. He opened it and peered inside. He looked up, but by then Amadeus was long gone. He sauntered over to the table, and poured the contents out. 9,500 drachma, and a little note. Myrto unfolded the paper and read it, shaking his head.

'A little extra for the trouble. A'

"Amadeus, you may be the craziest ημίθεος this side of Athens…. But to Hades if you don't know how to do your job." He muttered, as he briskly made his way to the taverna.


	3. Chapter 3

Amadeus made his way back to his house, placed the paper back into his journal, then began packing for the journey ahead. He didn't pack much; a change of clothes, some bread and wine, a few skins of water, his flask, and his 'special tool' set. Once he had all he needed, he set out towards the mountains. He walked much of the day, thinking about his life. Ever since he was young, he had been… different. None of the other children his age wanted anything to do with him because of his 'legacy'. His mother was the wife of Agamestor, the Archon of Athens, so she made sure he had 'friends', but Amadeus always knew they were fake. His mother, Liviana, had married Agamestor after she had Amadeus, and they had 4 other children, making Amadeus the outcast, especially considering his parentage. His father was none other than the Titan Lord himself, Kronos, the Lord of Time. His mother would never go into much detail about how and when Amadeus was conceived, other than to tell him that it was part of a deal made with the Titan. Somehow, even though history claims that Kronos' physical form was destroyed by Zeus and the other Olympians, Kronos at least temporarily had attained a physical form long enough for Amadeus to be born. Amadeus despised his father, maybe even more than the Olympians did. His father was not only evil, but decided it was a good idea to have a half-human child. Amadeus hated his father because of how his parentage got him treated. He was an outcast, a freak of nature. After a while of feeling so out of place, Amadeus decided to run away from the palace, and from his family, and live his life on his own. At first, he was scared, alone, and hungry. That is, until he found out that with his parentage came certain… gifts. Amadeus used these gifts to become a lethal killer; taking down monsters of any size for the right price. Some called him a hero for hire, others said he was a mercenary; all Amadeus knew was that fixing other people's 'supernatural' problems came with a handsome reward, as well as an exhilarating thrill. He lived for the hunt, for the adrenaline, for the danger. It was what he thrived on. The more impossible the task, the more he wanted to take it on. He wasn't the smartest person ever; many times that got him captured and beaten. But nonetheless, he still somehow managed to get the job done. After a few hours, he reached the foot of the mountains. Suddenly, he heard a low rattling sound. A coy smile grew on his face.

"Uh oh…. We got us a live one here!" He said loudly enough that whatever it was could hear. Silence. He listened closely, and heard it again.

"Don't be shy; come out and plaaaay!!!" Amadeus said excitedly, pulling his swords out of their sheath, taking a ready stance and spinning them in anticipation. Suddenly, the creature attacked. Amadeus instinctively rolled off to the side. The creature looked like a 12 ft. long horned viper mixed with a scorpion; its tail had a rattle on it, but the end of the rattle looked identical to a scorpion's tail. It had its fangs sunk deep into the ground where Amadeus had just been. These thing's poison was said to cause endless sleep…. Not death, but certainly not life. Amadeus didn't plan to find out.

"Oh, well hello there!" Amadeus said lively. "You're a Cerastae; and quite a large one at that. Been a long time since I've seen one of you guys." The creature whipped around and hissed violently at him, spraying venom and rattling its tail.

"Yeah, yeah; less talking more slicing." Amadeus said unimpressively. The creature slithered at him and he ran straight at it. Amadeus closed his eyes, and let his body take over. He mindlessly dodged the tail as it came flying at him with blinding speed, slicing it clean off just as it buried itself into the dirt next to him. The Cerastae hissed in pain, reeling back. Amadeus simply smirked and stood in place. The creature charged head on at Amadeus, who this time stood his ground. He waited until a split-second before the snake reached him, then jumped, front-flipped off of it's head, and driving both of his blades deep into the middle-back of the Cerastae. It whipped around and lunged at him, fangs out, and not realizing that it it continued this course, it would end up biting…. Itself. Its fangs sunk deep into its own flesh as Amadeus back-flipped off of it just in time. The creature removed it fangs and howled in pain as its body disintegrated into dust. Amadeus smiled and resheathed his bladed brushing off his hands dramatically.

"There. Done and done." He said resolutely, turning back to face the mountain. He sighed a long, deep sigh.

"It's a…. Long way up this mountain…" He said unhappily to himself. He groaned loudly and began hiking up the mountainside. After about an hour of hiking, he decided to take a short rest. He sat on the back side of a large rock for shade, and thought about his mission. First things first, he had to find some way to locate the….

"Is it almost time?" a voice called out from further up the mountain. Amadeus peeked out from around the rock to see 2 children; 1 boy and 1 girl, both of whom looked to be around 13 or 14, talking.

"Yes," the girl responded. "The Grandmaster will commence the operation soon. We must be patient and wait for his signal.

"I think we should head back; we've been searching for almost an hour, plus we already found a few footprints down the east ridge. Let's go tell the master what we've found." The boy said. The girl nodded, and the 2 of them took off further up the mountain. Amadeus smirked, standing up quietly.

"Yes, let's" He whispered to himself as he silently followed the 2 children. They went through all sorts of different passages and short-cuts, until they finally came to a halt near the top of the mountain. They had stopped at a tiny little rivett, just below the mountain's peak. At first and second glance, the rivett looked to be of little significance; it wasn't even deep enough to be considered a cave. But then, an older man seemed to just… appear from inside the indentation. The 2 children bowed politely to the man, who returned the gesture.

"It's a good thing the 2 of you returned; the master has called a meeting. We have a new member to welcome to our ranks." The older man explained. He and the 2 children turned and walked into the little dip, seeming to vanish into nothing. Amadeus was still smiling semi-evilly.

"Gotcha." He whispered and, looking around to be sure the coast was clear, quickly snuck his way into the dip. He made his way to the back wall, where he had seen the others vanish. He looked around and picked up a nearby rock. He weighed it, then underhanded it at the wall. The rock flew right through and disappeared. Amadeus stuck his arm through. It as well seemed to phase right through. He drew in a breath, then stepped through. He was immediately aware that he was in a cave; the damp, cool air, the torches lit periodically down a long, winding corridor of sorts. He looked around, taking in the surroundings; looking, listening….feeling. If he concentrated, he could feel time flowing around him, like a constant sense of deja-vu, magnified 10 times. He stepped out around the corner, only to be met with a blade being pointed at his chest. At the other end, a boy no older than Amadeus, wearing a specially made set of body armor, with a 𝚷 painted on in bright red.

"On your knees, trespasser." The kid commanded. Amadeus smirked, his hand hovering right over his left leg instinctively. The soldier seem to catch on too quickly.

"If you reach for your weapon, intruder, I will kill you." The boy insisted firmly. Amadeus' smile widened.

"You really don't want to do this. If you just let me through, I'll…"

"SILENCE! Get down on your knees now, or I will run this blade through your heart!" The guard yelled. Amadeus didn't budge. The boy took a step closer, his blade nearly slicing into Amadeus chest.

"On. Your…." The boy began. Amadeus closed his eyes, and snapped his fingers. Time around him slowly came to a halt. Amadeus took a deep, then turned around and surveyed the area. First, he walked around the blade of the now-frozen guard. He reached over, and slowly removed the blade from the lead guard's hand. There were 4 others behind him, in a square formation, almost shoulder to shoulder. Amadeus walked up to the first, gently poking him in the side of the head. He mirrored the move on the soldier next to the first. He poked the 3rd in the stomach, and gently shoved the 4th in the chest. He walked back over in front of the lead, holding the leader's own blade at his chest. He snapped his fingers, and time started to flow normally.

"...Knees." The leader finished. He realized that he wasn't holding his blade any longer. The first two knocked heads and slumped over, the 3rd grabbed his stomach and fell to his knees, and the 4th went flying into the wall, instantly knocked out. The lead guard looked at a smirking Amadeus in awe and fear.

"What are you?" He asked trembling.

"I'm the devil." Amadeus said in a low, demonic voice. The boy's eyes grew to the size of saucers. Amadeus tried to keep a straight face, which only worked for a few seconds before his classic grin took over once more

"I'm just kidding. I'm actually a mercenary. Been hired to rescue some kid." He admitted. Then he, blunt-ended the kid with the handle of the blade. The boy hit the cave wall to his right, then slowly slid down onto the floor. Amadeus dropped the blade next to the guard, and pat his unconscious form on the shoulder.

"Good try." He said with mock sympathy. He slowly and carefully continued his trek through the winding cave. It kept going deeper and deeper, and Amadeus wondered why he hadn't run into any more guards. Only 5 men guarding the entrance and path through the most secretive and powerful cult in all of Greece? It made no sense. He came to the end of the hallway. It opened into a large, open pocket of sorts, with a single stone bridge-like formation, on the other side was a giant, wooden door.

'I mean, you would think that a cult this big could afford better….' He was suddenly thrown off of his feet by a massive force suddenly smashing into his chest. He could feel the electricity running through his body as he recovered from the blow. After a moment, he slowly stood to his feet, wiping a tiny trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Amadeus Anastus." A voice called "I've heard your stories." Amadeus looked up, the smile still on his face.

"Zethus." Amadeus chuckled. "A demigod like you, working in a place like this? Sad." Amadeus laughed. Zethus scowled at him. Amadeus cracked his neck, stretching out.

"And here I was thinking that this wasn't going to be any fun." Amadeus commented.

"I don't care what you have accomplished, you will not win this battle." Zethus insisted.

"Yeah, sure. Look, I'll give you one chance to maintain your dignity; move aside."

Amadeus offered. Zethus simply scoffed.

"Your power may impress others, Amadeus; but not me. I fear no man." Zethus stated firmly. He pulled out a golden xiphos blade; imperial gold, no doubt. Amadeus grinned as he unsheathed his twin butterfly swords.

"Alright. Clash of the Juggernauts. Demigod vs Demititan; Son of Zeus vs Son of Kronos." Amadeus announced. For a few seconds, the 2 warriors simply stood in place, eyeing one another. Silence could be heard all around, the deadly quiet before the ultimate storm. Without warning, Zethus reeled his hand back, and threw a bolt of lightning at Amadeus. Time slowed down all around him as Amadeus narrowly avoided the bolt, side-stepping just in time. He smirked at Zethus, then started slowly walking towards him. He concentrated on time around Zethus, and was a little surprised when he thought nothing happened.

"My father protects me from your powers, Amadeus. You're going to have to fight me like a man." Zethus taunted. Amadeus shrugged.

"Makes no difference to me." He said cooly. The 2 met in the middle, Amadeus barely avoiding Zethus' golden blade. He noticed 2 things; Firstly, that Zethus fought Roman-style; and second, that Amadeus' time manipulation really did affect Zethus; when Amadeus ducked, time slowed down exponentially, albeit not nearly as much as when he had taken out the guards earlier. Amadeus swung up at Zethus with one blade, but Zethus was still quick enough to block. They swung and dodged and blocked at extreme speeds, the clanging of swords echoing through the cavern. Finally, Zethus got a good swing, skimming Amadeus right under his right ribs. Blood slowly began soaking his shirt. Zethus took advantage, kicking Amadeus and sending him flying across the bridge, almost straight over the edge. Amadeus groaned in pain, Zethus snickering as he started to walk over.

"All that talk, Amadeus, and you still have yet to land a single strike." He taunted. Amadeus suddenly lashed out, slashing into Zethus' left leg. Zethus instinctively grabbed at the wound. Amadeus quickly stood and slammed his knee into Zethus' face, who stumbled backwards, grabbing his nose with his free hand. Amadeus stood painfully.

"You were saying?" He retorted cockily. Zethus growled as he wiped blood off of his face.

"You'll pay for that!" Zethus swore

"Any time now," Amadeus grinned arrogantly. Zethus charged at him again, and the 2 fought vociferously once more. Amadeus swinging, narrowly missing, Zethus jabbing, Amadeus jumping back just in time. Back and forth the 2 went, a true clash of powers. Then, Amadeus saw the perfect opening. He blocked Zethus' strong right jab, and pivoted on his heels, slamming the butt of his sword right in the center of Zethus' back. He stumbled, trying to catch himself, but it was too late. Amadeus whirled around and saw Zethus tripping over the ledge. Amadeus' adrenaline took over, slowing down time all around. He dove to the edge, barely grabbing Zethus' hand. Time started flowing normally again, and Zethus looked up at Amadeus in disbelief. Amadeus struggled to pull Zethus massive bulk back up onto the stone bridge. Zethus laid on his back, still recovering from the near-death experience. Amadeus re-sheathed his blades, and began making his way to the other side of the cavern.

"Why… why did you save me?" Zethus called out. Amadeus stopped, then looked over his shoulder.

"Now what kind of an uncle would I be if I just let you vault over that cliff?" he asked teasingly before turning back to the path ahead. At the end of the bridge was a giant wooden door. It had a giant 𝚷 painted on it in bright red, just like the armor had. He leaned closer, placing his ear right against the door. Zethus saw the opportunity, and hobbled silently over to Amadeus while he was occupied. He raised his blade, ready to drive it right through Amadeus back. Amadeus suddenly threw his elbow back, knocking the wind out of Zethus. He covered Zethus mouth before he could groan out in pain.

"Shhhhh….. I'm trying to eavesdrop here!!" He whispered. He slipped his hand from Zethus' mouth to his neck, tightening his grip on him, slowly suffocating him until he was out cold. Amadeus placed his ear against the door once again.

"... will be ready to start as soon as our Grandmaster gives the word. Damon, our newest arrival shall join our ranks and become one of the brotherhood." A voice spoke.

"I…. I don't know if I'm ready.." Another called. This one sounded younger than the first, and very hesitant. Amadeus assumed this was Damon. Amadeus looked around, trying to find another way into the room. He scanned all along the walls.

'This cave looks old…. Too old to not have any…. Bingo.' He thought to himself. A narrow crack ran along the far side of the cave wall. There was a tiny ledge, just big enough to hold a person. Amadeus held his hands up in a rectangle, framing the tiny ledge between them, the ever-coy smile on his face. He paused and looked up and to the right, a pondering look on his face.

'Should I really do this? I mean, that ledge is REALLY narrow, and I don't even know if it is really that safe…..' He shook his head confusedly, like he couldn't believe his own thoughts.

'You know what, screw logic!' He decided. He ran and jumped, landing right on the very edge of the already extremely narrow ledge. He teetered for a few seconds before regaining his balance. He examined the crack in the wall, and his already smug grin grew even larger. The crack seemed to lead to an old abandon part of the cavern, and seemed to merge with the back wall of the room. He slunk his way through the narrow opening to the back of the wall into the next room. He couldn't see anything; it was pitch black in the tiny little airspace behind the room, but Amadeus had another idea. He closed his eyes, and focused. He slowed his breathing, using his own kind of meditation. He focused on time…. Second, minutes, hours…. All the way to eons. He focused…. Concentrated. Suddenly, he felt his forehead beginning to get really warm…. Much like the feeling you get when you hang upside-down, but much more intense. He suddenly got what could only be described as a Deja-vision. He saw the room on the other side of the wall.

'6 guards, all armed. 2 by the main door, 2 guarding the door behind it. One pacing the room, one sitting on the floor. The wall is pretty weak…. I could easily kick it over. I have precisely 13.225 second until the pacing guard is right in front of the wall. I kick it down the wall until the pacing guard is right next to it. 1. The shock of the wall tumbling down, temporarily disorienting the rest of the guards. The closest guards from me will be the 2 on the far side, near the exit door. I take out the first with a kick to the back of the knee, then a palm thrust to the upper chest. If I hit him right, I can hit his wind-pipe as well, knocking the wind out of him. By then, the shock will have worn off, and the other back-door guard will have drawn his sword. A Spatha… not the most ideal weapon speed wise…. I can easily out draw him. One slash to the wrist, one to the neck. 2 down. The other 2 guards will have no doubt made it over to where I am by then, and they both have Xiphos… a bit more of a challenge. I'll have to take them both on at once. I dodge the first's horizontal swing, slide under it and slice his knees. That should keep him down, but if not, while he's on his knees I might as well give him a little slicey-slice on the old neckeroo. That makes 3 down. The guard on the floor should be up at charging by then… He's got a knife. Nothing I can't handle. He's left-handed like me, so this should be a little bit more of a challenge than the norm, but hey; I enjoy a little bit of fun now and again. He'll jab twice, both time for my heart. Backstep the first, catch his wrist on the second. The other door guard will try and attack me from behind while I'm occupied. Twist the knife-wielders wrist, snapping it real nice and good. Pivot left, and elbow the poor kid to finish him off. He might need some ice for that broken nose. 4 down, 2 to go. The guard who got the wind knocked out of him should be up by then, and he and the other door guard will try and take me 2 on one. Didn't work out for the others, but…. Whatever. So, One guard with a spear, one with a Xiphos. Xiphos attacks first, a diagonal head swipe attempt. I'll need to dodge low, on one knee would probably be the best.Use my left blade to block, stab my blade right into his foot. The pain should disorient him. He'll be off guard and vulnerable. 2 strikes; one jab into the stomach, one into the neck. He's as good as dead. Spear won't waste any time, he's gonna try and skewer me for all he's worth. I roll to the side, and throw my left blade into his chest cavity, breaking the ribs and piercing his heart. Let's see…. 6 guard,10 seconds each….. I should be done in about a minute? Yeah, 1 minute 15 seconds will be plenty.' He went through the scenario in a dream like vision. He opened his eyes, still smiling widely. He drew in a deep, refreshing breath.

"Oh….. I'm gooood" He whispered. Without warning, he kicked the wall as hard as he could, an explosion from the inside, burying the pacing guard. He kicked the one guard in the back of the knee, and threw his palm into the guard's lower neck area. He didn't even use his full force, but the guard still vaulted across the room. He hit the ground with a thud, gasping for air and clutching at his neck. He ducked just in time, as a giant Spatha cut the horizon just above his head. He quickly drew his blades, and sliced the Spatha-wielder's wrist with one, twirling around and ice-picking his blade into the center of his back with the other. He jerkily removed his sword as the guards limp form crumbled to the ground. The 2 Xiphos charged, Amadeus side-stepping just as a horizontal swing nearly cut him in half. He faked a jab, then sliced into the guards knee, sending him down. He sliced his neck, ending his pain quickly. He the blocked the 2nd Xiphos with his right blade, twisting his wrist and retching the blade out of his hands, then knocking him out and sending him flying across the room with a roundhouse kick. The knife guard quickly jabbed twice at Amadeus' heart, Amadeus caught the second jab right behind the blade. He easily broke the guard's wrist, pivoting and smashing face with elbow. The guard he sent flying got up again, his Xiphos gleaming in the light. Amadeus smirked, taunting the guard forwards. The guard totally fell for the bait, charging him. Amadeus slid low, blocking the strike on one knee, then flipping his blade and driving it into his foot. Before the guard could even scream out in agony, Amadeus rapid-stabbed his blades into his stomach and neck. The guard dropped like a rock. The spear guard jumped into the air and drove his spear down hard. Amadeus rolled to the side, avoiding the aerial assault. The instant he was up on his knee, he flipped his blade and threw it into the spearwielder's chest. The guard looked down at his chest armor in surprise, as the blade began to drip with his blood. The last thing he saw was Amadeus waving at him sarcastically as he dropped to his knees, then fell over. Amadeus looked all around himself at the mayhem he had produced. He walked over and pulled out his blade from the fresh carcass, resheathing both of his precious blades.

"Dang, I'm good." He commented resolutely to no one in particular. He walked over to and was about to open the final door, when he stopped. Something felt…. Off. Wrong. Even after taking on Zethus and all of the guards he had fought thus far, it still felt too easy. His gut told him something was very wrong, but he decided to make both the best and worst choice he would ever make; he ignored his gut, and stepped into the next room. The room was very large, echoy, and very dark. He cautiously worked his way into the room, a sense of panic washing over him, screaming that something wasn't right. Suddenly, the torches on the wall were lit successively, Amadeus suddenly cast into blinding light. He was disoriented for a moment, but got a grip on his berings just in time to see the blunt end of a sword plow into the side of his skull.


	4. Chapter 4

Amadeus awoke to a bright white room.

'No, not a room,' He thought, 'A cell.' His suspicions were confirmed when he tried to move his arms and found them chained to the wall. He was hanging forwards, the weight of his body stressed on his arms. He could feel a trickle of blood hardened on his face.

'How long was I out?' He questioned. He heard a noise, a shuffling just outside of the cell. He closed his eyes, then called out.

"Tell me; Why did you do it?" He asked to the unknown figure.

"Why'd you set me up?" Out of the shadows stepped a girl, dressed in one of the guards uniforms, complete with a red cape that strapped to the shoulders of her chestplate. That girl was none other than Astraea. She smiled down at him smuggly.

"You couldn't understand even if I did tell you." She told him.

"Humor me." He said, grinning ear-to-ear despite the situation. She sighed, as though he was the stupidest thing alive. She rolled her eyes.

"You are a Half-Blood, a powerful being with immense potential. You especially are one of the extremely lethal ones." She began

"Awwww….. You're making me blush." He said slyly. She simply glared at him.

"The one I serve, he is what you might call…. A collector." She continued, stepping closer to the cell.

"He searches the world over, looking for beings as successful as you, and has us bring them here." She said

"And where exactly is here?" Amadeus asked in a quiet voice, barely above a whisper. She laughed dryly, then stepped back.

"This is a prison designed to hold people just like you, Amadeus." She said, spite evident in her voice. Amadeus looked around. The cells, walls, and floors all looked new. The chains on his arms were made of some kind of hybrid metal.

"Stygian Iron-Steel alloy." She commented, as though she knew what he was thinking.

'That explains why I feel so weak,' He mentally affirmed.

"And that's not even the best part" She cooed cockily. Amadeus heard the door behind her open, Astraea turning to him and grinning evilly

"Speak of the devil." she whispered. 2 guards marched into the room, Astraea opening the cell door. They were carrying a wooden box, about the size of a shoebox, a rattling heard from the inside. Amadeus felt his heart rate speeding up, Astraea opening the box as she spoke.

"This is a very special snake, Amadeus. Do you want to know why?"

"No thanks, I'm good." He said unimpressedly.

"This snake is a magical snake. Its venom has the ability to put whomever it bits into an eternal, timeless sleep," She explained as she lifted a giant snake's head out of the box. The head had obviously been severed from the body, the snake's mouth open and poised to strike at any moment. The weirdest thing about it were its eyes. They were glowing a deep, piercing red color. She slowly walked over to Amadeus with the head. A guard grabbed his wrist and tuned it over, Amadeus trying but failing to fight against him. His Titan-esc strength was being sapped from his body by the chains that held him; he was too weak to fight.

"Take a good look around you, Amadeus Anastus; This prison cell is the last thing you will ever see. You will be trapped here for the rest of eternity, the poison making you live your worst nightmare forever. This prison was built for my master by the Lotus Eaters; you will never die. You will forever be haunted by your worst nightmares, never able to die, never able to reach the peace you desire so desperately. So enjoy your hell, Amadeus; I know I will." She whispered. She suddenly jabbed the snakes 3 inch fangs deep into the largest blood vessel in his left wrist. He felt a pain like lava running through his veins, then simply….. darkness.

One could only explain the feeling that came next as never ending agony. Amadeus had been through Tartarus before, once quite literally, but this…. This was far worse. He felt as though every fiber of his being was getting ripped to shreds, and his mind as though it was melting away. He couldn't bare to try and focus on any memories; it took all he had just to keep himself afloat from drowning into oblivion. He was in a darkness, but not like being in a closed room darkness. He could feel the darkness around him, his unresponsive mind like a prison to his willpower. Amadeus wasn't really sure at what point he began to be able to think again, he just remembered that he could. He knew that if he were to have any chance at leaving this hell, he was going to have to take a huge chance. He began to focus on time. He felt his will being slowly raised to the surface of the deafening darkness as his abilities began struggling to anchor him in time. The darkness pulled back violently, Amadeus feeling weaker and weaker. But he steeled himself and fought back. This was it. If he failed now, he will have used all the willpower he had left, and would be forever sunk in this slough of misery. That very thought caused him to push with all he had, forcing himself do the one thing that would break the hold of the toxin.

'It…..is…..time!!!' He mentally yelled, feeling his consciousness being vaulted above the darkness, and into the light above. Amadeus was instantly thrown back into his own body, arching like he had just been shocked as he sucked in all of the oxygen in the room. He felt a heat and light washing over him as he tried to look up. He was instantly blinded by a bright white torch burning right in his eyes. He looked away, and felt his heart jump to his throat. The room… the cell…. was vastly different from the cell he had been in before. This one looked as though it was made of… glass. The floors were made of a silky-smooth looking stone, and there were odd looking boxes all around him. He looked down at himself. He was in an oddly fashioned backless chiton, and was strapped to a table of some kind. He looked at his wrist, and was shocked to see some sort of… tube-like structure attached to him. He tried to remove it, wincing at the unexpected sting. He held the tube up to see that someone had attached it to him with some sort of…. Fang. There were 2 more fangs in his arms. As he turned to pull the other fang out, the restraint on his left arm broke off. He quickly realized that his physical strength had returned. A loud beeping sound began coming from seemingly nowhere. Amadeus heard footsteps, and instantly laid back down, pretending he wasn't awake. 3 men in odd white robes came bursting through the doors, and briskly made their way over to Amadeus. One wretched open his eye, shoving some hand held torch right into it.

"He must have had some sort of temporary lapse in his sedative." the torch wielder claimed. The only problem was, Amadeus didn't understand a word of it. It was some language Amadeus had never heard before, which confused him greatly.

'What is going on?' he thought. Then he stole a glance at the man's robe. Though he did understand most of the writing, he did understand one; a red 𝚷 stitched into the right chest of the robe.

"Ok, let's up the dosage, nurse, hand me the syringe." The man instructed. Though Amadeus had no idea what he was saying, he did understand the fact that he was bringing another one of those fangs way too close to his upper arm.Just before the man could stab him with it, Amadeus snapped. He grabbed his wrist and twisted, instantly breaking his wrist. He took the fang and stabbed him in the neck with it 3 times. He snapped his other restraints, stabbing the 2nd one in the hand, pinning him to the table. One of the men was running towards the door. Amadeus quickly sat up, and grabbed a very odd looking tiny knife. The knife's handle was twice as big as the blade, which really made no sense, but Amadeus didn't have the time to question it. He threw the knife at the robed figure, hitting him straight in the back of the neck. The man stumbled once, twice, then fell to his knees and to the floor. The man he had pinned to the table was still crying out in pain. Amadeus looked at him questioningly.

"Πού βρίσκομαι?" Amadeus asked. The man looked scared and confused and in pain all at once.

"I….I don't understand you! Please, don't kill me!!" The doctor begged. Amadeus cocked his head to the side, a confused look on his face.

"𝚫εν με καταλαβαίνεις, έτσι?" Amadeus asked.

"I really don't know what you are saying, I'm sorry!" The man plead. Amadeus shook his head in realization.

'This guy can't understand me, and I sure as Hades can't understand him… oh, lightbulb!"' Amadeus thought. When he was little, Amadeus quickly realized that he could manipulate time. Not time travel; but more like his own personal perception of time. He could…. Adapt to time, like a time chameleon. He had done it once before while he was doing a job in Persia. He reached over, and much to the doctor pleading and protest, touched his temple and focused.

'Time….. What time…. ' He thought. Suddenly, he was bombarded with all sorts of time-related information; 2 thousand years worth of history and culture in a matter of seconds. He let go of the guard and looked at his hands, a whole new perspective of life opened up to him.

"Wow….. what a RUSH!!!" Amadeus exclaimed in perfect English.

"What did you do to me?" The doctor asked, on the verge of tears. Amadeus looked at him again, this time with his aged-like-wine smirk.

"My dear doctor, it's not what I did you; I simply….. Jogged my memory a bit." He explained. The physician let out a shaky sigh. Amadeus quickly removed the needle, the man yelping as he did.

"There will be some side effects, though." Amadeus said seriously. The man looked at him again, fear evident in his eyes once more. Amadeus knelt down, looked at the doctor right in the eyes for a few seconds, then smashed his head against the '"bed", knocking him out cold.

"It makes you really drowsy." He chuckled. He looked around for his clothes. They were gone. The smirk on his face vanished when his hands gravitated to his sides, and he realized that his swords were gone. He remembered how he got there, and with his newfound knowledge of history made a shocking discovery.

'I…. I've been out for 2 thousand years!!!' He strode over to a full-length mirror, and looked at himself. He had grown to an even 6 ft tall and had a little bit more muscle, but other than that he was the same ol Amadeus as always. His thoughts were instantly directed to the people who had done this to him. He thought of Astraea, and his fists instantly clenched shut.

"Oh…. girl…. You are SO lucky that you are already dead." He said to no one in particular. He looked around, realizing that it probably wasn't the best idea to just stand around. The guards would soon realize that the doctors had not returned, and Amadeus really didn't feel like dealing with a bunch of armed guards with his bare hands. He had seen where the doctor had come in from; a set of double doors at the other end of the room. He happened a glance up above the door to his old 'room', and noticed that there was something imprinted there. 'Req. 1' was stamped in bold roboto type, glowing a neon blue. His gaze travelled across the room ,and he was stopped cold by what he saw. "Req. 2', 'Req 3', and 'Req 4'. Right below each 'title' was more writing; each one said "Level 5 Threat".

"I wasn't the only one… " Amadeus whispered to himself, still stunned. He shook his head, bringing himself back to reality. He hardened his mind, and made his way to the door.

'I don't have time; those guards could be here any minute' he thought as he reached for the handle. His hand hovered hesitantly millimeters over it. He thought of the pain and agony he had gone through, and how the only reason he had managed to break free was because of his abilities given by his father. These demis didn't have time manipulation, they couldn't anchor themselves into reality; if he left them, they would be trapped there for the rest of eternity, suffering the same hell he had so desperately fought to free himself from. He groaned in annoyance before turning around and heading over to 'Req 2.' They all looked to be around his age; no older than 20. Req 2 was a skinny young girl She had an exotic tan and deep, raven-black hair. Her cheek bones were very defined, and even in her current state, she looked…. wise.

"Please don't try to kill me, ok?" He asked her unconscious form. He cautiously placed his hand onto the side of her temple, and concentrated. For a split second, he shared her agony; it indeed felt much akin to the pain he had been feeling just moments ago. Since he was free of the drugs and toxins, it was much easier for him to break her from the bonds of the stuff. Her eyes suddenly shot open, bright, olive-green orbs darting around and surveying the area with question, anger, and fear. She looked Amadeus in the eyes, and he instantly felt uncomfortable.

"Φύγε μακριά μου!" ("Get away from me!") She exclaimed. Her voice sounded authoritative and powerful, and despite her still being in restraints, Amadeus couldn't help but almost feel obligated to obey her. He spoke to her in Greek so that she would understand.

"Hey, hey! I'm the guy that just broke you out of that mid-trap, take it easy! Names Amadeus. I was trapped here too, same as you." He explained. Again her eyes dug into his mind, almost as if making sure he was telling the truth. Finally, she loosened up.

"Could you please get these objects out of my arms and and release me then?" She asked. He nodded, and ripped the straps off of her. She was in an identical set up as he had been. She stood up slowly, and tied the back of the gown together as Amadeus had.

"Aasiyah." She said suddenly. "My name is Aasiyah, Daughter of Athena." She explained. Before Amadeus could get another word in, she was already scoping out the room.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"I think the better question is WHEN are we, and it would be easier if I just let you see for yourself." Amadeus explained. He held out his hand, as though to shake hers. She looked at him skeptically, his grin plastered on his face.

"Come on; I don't bite…. Hard." He smirked. She hesitantly took his hand, and her body jolted like she had just been electrocuted. She staggered back, clutching her hand.

"Whoa…. " She whispered in English, surprising herself.

"Th….The 21st century? We've been here 1,500 years?" She asked. Amadeus' brow furrowed.

"Actually, I've been here for 2000." he explained. She looked at him in shock

"How? That makes you almost 500 years older than me!"

"When I was put in here, I was told that these cells were built by members of the Lotus Eaters. It keeps us from ageing very much. It must not be perfect, because I was 15 when I was first put in here. Im probably closer to 18 now." He explained as he walked over to the 'Req 3.' This one was another guy. He looked to be about 6ft 5in. tall, with the build of your typical high-school quarterback. He was a Greek-tan, with medium length black hair, cut into a classic taper. He looked to be about 18 years old like Amadeus. Amadeus repeated the process with him, with the same result. This time, Amadeus took the liberty of catching him up on the times while he freed his mind, so that the boy awoke able to speak English. He opened his deep blues eyes, and squinted.

"My head…. It aches." he said. His voice sounded lot like an 18 year old version of Marvel's Thor… in fact, the kid bore a striking resemblance to him.

"Yeah, dude. I feel ya." Amadeus sympathized. They found out his name was Maximus Creon, Son of Hercules,and that he was a Roman Gladiator, apparently the best. While Aasiyah explained what was going on, Amadeus went over to the final captive; 'Req 4' The minute he saw her, his heart dropped. She was very tiny, probably barely pushing 5ft tall, and was moderately slim. Her hair was a thick, wavy chocolate brown, that reached just past her shoulders. She as well was a moderate tan, showing that they all came from around the Greek area.

'How could anyone hurt such an innocent looking girl?' Amadeus thought. He very quickly got her answer as he was thrown across the room with Titan-esc strength, accompanied by the angry growl of an primed and loaded warrior. Her eyes were a blazing fiery orange, burning with passion and rage. She quickly stood up, breaking her bonds and tying up her gown.

"Who are you? Where am I?" She growled. Her voice and face did not at all match her personality. She acted like the biggest person in the room, but when she spoke she almost sounded like she was just whispering very loudly.

"You just got free from your own mental holocaust by yours truly, and I…. may need medical attention." Amadeus groaned. Maximus looked at him incredulously.

"You require a physician after a tiny fall such as that? I am surprised." He commented. He said it as though he genuinely meant every word.

"I was being facetious, big guy." Amadeus explained, brushing himself off. The other girl was still scowling, her eyes darting between them. Amadeus put his hand up and approached slowly.

"Look, lady, we don't have much time before this place is flooded with guards. Now, you don't have to trust us, that's perfectly fine." Amadeus began

"You can just stay here and get captured." Aasiyah chimed in, crossing her arms with finality.

"Not helping" Amadeus growled at her through grit teeth. She rolled her eyes and scoffed in annoyance. Amadeus smiled back at the other girl, who still looked adorably confused and angry.

"We just want to help you. I'm Amadeus. I was locked up here just like you were. We aren't your enemy; they are. We are just as pissed off at them as you are, and I for one don't plan on wasting my energy fighting you guys when you were locked up here just like me."

"I second that notion!" Maximus declared for all to hear

"Thank you!" Amadeus exasperated. The girl's face changed from angry to guarded. She stuck out her hand firmly.

"I'm Lilith, Daughter of… of the Titan Pallas." She explained. Amadeus smiled and took her hand.

"Ain't no shame in that, I'm Amadeus, Son of Kronos." He said cordially, shaking her hand. The sly smirk took over once again

"I guess that means we're cousins, huh?" He joked. If she got it, she didn't let it show, because she merely nodded.

"Where are my belongings?" Maximus asked. Amadeus turned and shrugged.

"We are going to need to find our stuff before we leave. Look, I know we just met, but I'm pretty sure we've been stuck in the same room together for close to a thousand years. If we are going to do this, we need to put aside our prides and differences and work together. Separately, we each posed a Level 5 Threat. They made the critical mistake of pissing off the most powerful rogue demis of the past 2 thousand years and then sticking them in a room together with common motive and goal. Whatcha say we go show them exactly how bad an idea that was." Amadeus said, then stuck his hand out.

"Come on guys, bring it in!" He said enthusiastically.

"In I shall bring it indeed!" Maximus said with equal vigor, slapping his hand on top of Amadeus.

"It seems like the only logical way out of here alive." Aasiyah admitted, tentatively placing her hand onto the pile. The 3 of them looked at Lilith, who stood resolute for a moment, before slapping her hand on top as well.

"Whatever. Let's go gut some stuff." She said. Her voice was so quiet and whisper-like, she said it like one would say, " Hey, let's get some cheesecake." Though the gesture was simple, each person knew exactly what is stood for. Though they were mercenaries and gladiators, they were all honorable. As little as they knew about one another, they were all they had left in the world, and everybody has got to trust somebody. They had given up their individual vendettas and agendas and become something more. They understood that this was a pact, that they were now a team.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, guys; we need a name. Every team has a name." Amadeus said, smirking as he rubbed his hands together excitedly. Aasiyah sighed, massaging her forehead, and Lilith looked at him like he was joking

"Please don't, we really don't need…." Lilith began. She was cut off by Maximus.

"I vote the Gladiator and his Less Impressive Cohorts." Maximus said seriously. When the other 3 gave him the same 'absolutely not' face, he simply shrugged.

"What? It sounds quite accurate." He stated matter-of-factly. Amadeus shook his head, then looked up ponderously at the 'Req's above each 'room'.

"I think that they already supplied our name for us, don't you?" He asked, pointing. They all looked up, curiously trying to figure out just what he was getting at.

"I was thinking…. The Requiators." Amadeus said cooly, gesturing in the air with his hands. They looked at one another, genuinely shocked that it was actually a really nice sounding name.

"Sounds like something that would kill." Lilith admitted

"Agreed. It rings of deadliness. " Maximus confirmed.

"Requiem…. An act of Penance for wrongdoing. Not bad, Amadeus." Aasiyah said surprisedly. Amadeus bowed elegantly.

"Now, If the Requiators want to stay FREE, I suggest we get the Hades out of here." Lilith said bluntly but softly. Her voice was hard yet soft, like getting whacked in the face with a pillow. They all agreed, and hurriedly made their way over to the door. Amadeus yanked on it, but it was locked.

"Out of my way, Amadeus." Lilith grumbled, shoving him. She began to pull on it herself, grunting and groaning. Amadeus looked extremely offended, turning to Aasiyah and pointing at Lilith

"MOOOM! Lilith PUSHED ME!" He whined. Aasiyah rolled her eyes, ignoring his antics.

"That door looks to be made of a double- reinforced titanium alloy, there is no way you are going to…" Aasiyah began. Maximus picked Lilith up with one hand, and ripped the door straight off of its hinges with the other. The 3 others were silent for a moment, before Lilith piped in.

"Don't. You. EVER. Pick me up again." She growled. Though her voice made it hard to take her seriously, her eyes surely didn't. Maximus set her back down slowly

"As you wish." Maximus said. The door opened up into a long, winding hallway. Amadeus held the imaginary door open for them, smirking the whole time and mumbling something about 'having some class.' They worked their way through the facility, ducking into a room each time a guard or two would walk by. The guards, although in the 21st century, didn't look much different from the guards Amadeus had encountered 2 thousand years ago.

"I wonder why they still use swords?" Amadeus wondered aloud as they trekked through the place.

"Because godly metals don't harm mortals; bullets do." Aasiyah explained quickly. After much searching, they finally made it to the confiscation room. It was set up much like a CSI evidence locker, with items in baggies that were each individually labeled. They had just stepped into the room, when a guard walked by and happened to glance in.

"Hey, who are you? You can't…."

"Look out behind you!" Amadeus gasped. The guard whipped around, only for Amadeus to snap his fingers, the guard now frozen in place, while the others watched in amazement.

"Pfft. Gullible." Amadeus laughed

"You broke the human. Impressive." Maximus grunted seriously. Amadeus smirked.

"Let's just say…. I took the liberty of buying us some time." He explained. On the wall were an assortment of different sized Sydikato uniforms. They all grabbed one and threw it on. It wasn't the best, but it sure beat a hospital gown. They made their way to the very back of the locker, where all of the oldest items were. Dust collected more and more as they walked, proving their point. After what felt like hours, they finally made their way to the back wall. Locked in a special locker all its own, Were several baggies labeled "REQ' in big bold red letters.

"Bingo." Aasiyah whispered. She cocked an eyebrow at Maximus, who smiled and cracked his knuckles. She grabbed his arm before he could do anything.

"Quietly?" She asked. He nodded, and surprisingly silently removed the door of the locker. They grabbed the bag and ripped it open, grabbing their stuff.

"Oh, my babies!" Amadeus whispered, picking up his butterfly swords. The others grabbed their belongings as well. Lilith grabbed a pair of Chakram and a sword in a sheath. She blew off the dust and unsheathed it. It was a wicked looking scimitar blade. She smiled for the first time in a thousand years as she resheathed it, slinging the strap across her chest and the sheath onto her back. The Chakram suddenly…. Transformed into a pair of bracelets. She slipped on the bracelets.

"Now all I need are some guts to spill…" She said, her eyes darting down the long hall to where the guard remained frozen.

"Nope." Aasiyah said monotonously, without even looking up from what she was doing. Lilith humphed and sat on a nearby box.

"Killjoy." She murmured. Aasiyah was too busy with her own belongings to notice. She had a wicked looking Stygian Iron Kopis. She slid it comfortably into a more traditional side-sheath, still looking around for something.

"My hourglass of summoning! It's gone!" She exclaimed. They looked around, but it wasn't there.

"Someone must have taken it before it ever made it to the locker." Lilith muttered as she cleaned underneath of her fingernails with her sword. Maximus grabbed his one possession; an armguard. Amadeus cocked an eyebrow at him confusedly.

"All you wanted to get out of here was your armguard? I mean, it's pretty and all but… I think those went out of fashion a while ago." He explained.

"My friend, we of all people should know that sometimes," He said, tapping the middle of the guard. It elongated and morphed, until it became a giant blunt-ended battle mace. It was made of silver, but the silver had a greyish-black tinge to it, like it had been infected by something. " Things are not exactly as they appear." He finished. He noticed their confused looks, his smiled deepening.

"Stygian Iron-Silver hybrid." Maximus explained. Though the giant mace was no doubt meant to be wielded with two hands, Maximus easily held it in one, as though it weighed nothing at all. Once they all had their belongings, They swiftly made their way to the exit. No sooner than they had closed the door to the evidence locker, than a siren went off all over the building, the lights changing from a bright white to a red.

"ALERT! ALERT! LEVEL 5 PRISONERS ON THE LOOSE! I REPEAT, THE REQs ARE ON THE LOOSE! TO BE CONSIDERED EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! LETHAL FORCE IS TO BE USED IF NECESSARY!" A loud computer-like voice rang through the hallways over top of the wailing guards must have noticed the missing doctor. Amadeus squinted, clenching his fist.

"We've been ratted out, boys." He said, super-seriously. Lilith unsheathed her sword excitedly.

"Alright! Playtime!" She said primally. Maximus readjusted his grip on his mace, looking at her with his patented confused look.

"I don't think want to play. They want to kill us." Maximus informed. Lilith wasn't listening as they began running down the hallway. Soon, they came to another set of double doors. Maximus didn't wait to be told; he swung his mace straight into the door, blowing it of its hinges and sending it flying down the next hallway, and into 3 guards. Amadeus smiled at him ornerily.

"Nice shot, big guy!" He exclaimed.

"Thank you. The best part is it wasn't even planned." He bragged.

"No kidding, huh?" Amadeus asked with mock seriousness.

"I am not kidding, my friend!" He responded equally as puffed up as the first time. The room was full of about 20 guards; they and the Requiators in a little bit of a standoff, no one wanting to make the first move.

"Amadeus, you and Lilith take the left. Maximus, you get the ones on the right. I'll handle any stragglers." Aasiyah commanded. They all unsheathed their weapons, the guards nervously following suit. A few moments went by, when suddenly one of the guards on the left grunted. A butterfly sword stuck neatly into his armor, blood slowly dripping.

"Awww…. Poor baby!." Amadeus snickered. After that mass chaos broke out. Amadeus and Lilith glided through their forces, slicing and ducking and weaving. Amadeus was smirking, but Lilith was in the zone, her face hardened and focused as she ducked and stabbed and counter-attacked. Maximus charged at the cluster on the right, taking out 5 with one mighty swing. They flew into the wall behind them with a thud, all of them out cold.

"You call yourselves warriors? HA!" Maximus taunted, before picking one up by the armor and throwing him into another. His incredible strength allowed him to wield the massive mace with the grace and elegance of a Xiphos sword. He blocked and countered any soldier that crossed his path, all of them either too weak to get back up and fight, or simply dead on impact. Aasiyah seemed to strategically pick off each target with a precision and grace that only a child of Athena could possibly obtain. Each stroke of the blade seemed to have a higher purpose, and she fought as though the battle were a game of chess; no move was made without a reason. This made her virtually untouchable, as she seemed to force the battle to go according to her plan. In a matter of minutes, the 4 demis were the only 4 left standing among the blood bathed battleground. Amadeus looked around excitedly.

"Well, would you look at us! Teamwork and junk!" He exclaimed, twirling his sword before sliding it back into its proper place. One of the guards twitched, Amadeus kicking him in the head, and he stopped.

"We should probably get going before more come." Aasiyah commented. Lilith sighed in disappointment.

"Awwww….. Do we HAVE to? I was just gettin warmed up!" She complained.

"I agree with Lilith. This is invigorating! There is something refreshing about beating an enemy who is so petty….. And tiny." Maximus agreed. He looked at Lilith concernedly.

"Not that there is anything wrong with being tiny, Lilith. You're tiny, and yet you fight like a ravenous bear!" He exclaimed unashamedly. Lilith's face scrunched in confusion, like she wanted to get mad, but couldn't figure out if Maximus was actually being offensive or not.

"Thanks?" She asked, unsure of what he had even just said.

"You are most welcome." Maximus replied obliviously

"We're wasting time, let's go!" Aasiyah commanded. They began running down the halls, winding their way towards the exit under the guide of Aasiyah.

"Hey, Aasiyah; not to sound like I underestimate you or anything, but…" Amadeus began.

"I got a glance at the map when we were headed out of the lockers." She answered before he could finish.

"Over the sirens and flashy lights?" He said surprisedly. She simply grunted, which he assumed meant yes.

"Wow. Ok then, you the boss, hoss." He shrugged as they continued following her.

"There. The exit should be right around…" Amadeus suddenly covered her mouth and yanked her away from the next hallway. He put a finger to his mouth, then slowly released her.

"What the Hades?!" She exclaimed in a whisper.

"12 guards, all armed. There is an emergency lockdown switch right next to the door; it releases some form of Stygian Iron flake dust; If they pull that lever, it will nullify out powers for the next few days." Amadeus explained. She looked at him like he had just prophesied.

"How… How do you know that?" She asked defensively.

"Call it a hunch." He whispered.

"Then freeze them like you did to that other reject." Lilith suggested. Amadeus looked at them and silently snapped, then shook his head

"Can't. Their armor must be enchanted." He cursed. He looked the the wall they were all up against and focused. Time…. He saw a flash of the future.

'Ok, so there is no way past those guards. The outside of this wall leads outside. I can't freeze the guards because their armor is enchanted. Maximus could easily make us a hole in this wall. If he blows this hole, they are going to hear. It will take them 12.25 seconds to get here, easily enough time for us to get out. To our immediate left is a waterfall; let's just hope we can all swim, cause I've got an idea.'

"Guys, I've got an idea." Amadeus stated. "You guys can all swim, right?" They all nodded, wondering why in Hades he would ask at a time like this. "Maximus, on my signal blow a hole in this wall." He instructed. Maximus nodded, but Aasiyah shook her head.

"Are you crazy? They'll hear that a mile away! And we don't even know what is on the other side of this wall, Amadeus! It could drop off into a cliff for all we know!" She whispered.

"Then I guess you'll just have to trust me." He countered.

"No, I don't! I only trust what I can see and prove, and this crazy plan doesn't satisfy either criteria!" She insisted. Just then, they heard a group of guards a ways off down the hallway behind them screaming and shouting. They must have found their little masterpiece.

"Look, Aasiyah; we don't have time for this! You have to trust me ok?" Amadeus plead. Aasiyah bit her lip, not willing to accept the fact that there was no other logical way out.

"Aasiyah, it's either you trust me, or we all get locked back up, this time probably separately. There's no guarantee that I can escape the toxin and the cell again, and even if I can, I don't know if I'd be able to find you guys, too." He explained. The guards were getting louder as they closed in on them. Amadeus looked her in the eyes and waited. She took in a deep breath, and let go of Maximus' arm, nodding to Amadeus. He nodded back, then focused on the Stygian dust that was in the pipes above them.

"Now Maximus!" He cried. In one power-packed swing, Maximus blew a nice sized hole into the wall. Right outside was a green mountainside, and about 50 meters away was a glistening waterfall. Amadeus snapped his fingers, the dust hanging in mid air just before it could reach them as the guard instinctively pulled the lever. When the guard saw that no dust was coming out, he pulled it again.

"Wrong lever, Kronk." Amadeus laughed. He and the other 3 demis burst out of the facility, sirens still wailing as the charged to the waterfall. A squadron of guards chased after them, some firing arrows at them as they ran. Amadeus ran backwards, laughing at their attempts. He cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Man, you guys really suck at this, don't you?" He yelled, an arrow narrowly missing his left ear.

"Amadeus, let's go!" Lilith, yanked him around. A squadron started running after them, but they were too late, as the Requiators dove over the waterfall, and disappeared into the mist beneath.


	6. Chapter 6

Amadeus popped his head up above the water, taking in a deep breath of cool, crisp air. He looked for the rest of the demis. Maximus wasn't that far away, hauling himself up onto the shore of the river, his mace changing back into an arm guard. Aasiyah popped up her head a few seconds after Amadeus, and Lilith was already on the shore wringing out her hair. All of them seemed to be ok, and not injured too badly. As Amadeus worked his way to the shore, he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that he had been in a coma for 2 thousand years. He saw a car drive by on the road up the hill, which was an odd sensation. Because he 'caught himself up' to the times, he knew that was a car. He knew how it operated and understood its purpose. But he still couldn't help that entranced feeling as he watched it rumble by. It was all starting to become real. He was in the 21st century. He didn't have time to stand around daydreaming; he and the others were not out of the woods yet. Something told him that those guards weren't going to give up that easily. He sloshed over to the rest of the group, all of them out of breath.

"So, what now, Amadeus?" Aasiyah asked. He simply shrugged.

"Don't know. Haven't planned that far ahead. Figured I'd leave that part to you." He managed a coy smile. She stood upright, still heaving from swimming for so long. They had put some distance between them and the prison, but they still felt uneasy. Aasiyah looked around critically, scanning the environment.

"Well first things first, we need to blend in. We are going to need to get some new clothes, and lay low until we're sure they're not tracking us anymore." She said with authority. They all nodded their agreement, and began their trek up the tiny hill, sloshing the whole way.

"Boy, I LOVE wet clothes," Amadeus said sarcastically. Maximus just gave him his look of confusion.

"I do not. They are cold, uncomfortable, and make my feet feel like raisins." He said seriously. Amadeus drew in a breath, about to explain to him that he was being sarcastic, then let it out. I mean, what good would it do anyways, right? They made their way up to the road. Aasiyah scanned the road, looking for a car.

"We are going to need some wheels." She explained.

"I could always go gut somebody," Lilith offered. Amadeus put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head, much to her disappointment. Just then, they heard the distinctive sound of a car rolling down the road, they saw the headlights as the car sped towards their position.

"Fear not, companions; I'll handle this." Maximus said confidently. He stepped out into the middle of the road right as the car was about to pass. Its brakes screeched and it laid on the horn as Maximus simply reached out and caught it, lifting it into the air, then setting it back down gently. Lilith opened the door, and Maximus grabbed the driver by the scruff of his shirt, vaulting him a little ways down the hill. The car was actually a very sleek looking 4 door sedan. Aasiyah reached into her pocket and pulled out a brand new golden drachma.

"Back when I got these, they were not even worth a piece of fruit. Now, they are worth a car. Funny how things work, don't you agree?" She asked, setting the drachma where the car had been. She got into the driver seat.

"I believe the term is shotgun!" Amadeus cried, charging to the the other side of the car and getting into the passenger seat. Lilith rolled her eyes and slumped into the back seat next to Maximus.

"Rich Corinthian Leather. You know, I once knew the man who invented Corinthian leather. He was very overweight. Good man, really knew how to cook." Maximus commented out-of-the-blue. Aasiyah reached across Amadeus and got into the glove box. She pulled out the instruction manual, and then tossed it back in without even opening it. Amadeus looked at her like she just broke out of a mental hospital, not a max-security prison. She cocked an eyebrow at him before sighing and turning to the road.

"It's called Wisdom's Touch. I can kind of…. Absorb any knowledge contained within books and stuff." She explained. Amadeus squinted his eyes at her critically.

"Can you also read minds?" He whispered. She snorted at him incredulously.

"No, that would be ridiculous." She said as though everyone in the world knew that. Amadeus just continued squinting, nonchalauntly reaching for the gear shift.

"Don't touch that." She said without even looking.

"mmmmmHHHMMM!" Amadeus grunted, smirking as though his theory was somehow proven. She rolled her eyes and mumbled something about him being such a doofus, before putting the car into drive and taking off down the road. Amadeus began fiddling with his seat, whoa-ing as it moved back and forth. He moved it all the way back, much to the protest of Lilith. He turned around and smirked at her evilly.

"Oh, stop being so whiny…. I mean, it's not like you need the leg room." He said, trying not to chuckle as he did. She instantly shot forwards, a tiny blade he didn't even know she had suddenly appearing in her hand, and pinned him to the seat by his neck, the blade tickling the sensitive skin.

"You were saying?" She growled quietly. Whereas any normal person would have been freaked out, Amadeus didn't even flinch at the gesture, his smile deepening.

"Oh! What's the name of this game?" He asked excitedly. Lilith was quite shocked that he was not the slightest bit scared of the situation at all.

"Psycho." she grunted and backed off. Amadeus quickly kicked his feet up onto the dash and leaned back. His foot slipped and accidentally hit the volume, turning up the radio. The driver had been listening to the song Jump by Van Halen . Amadeus' eyes became as big as saucers as he recalled that this device was called a radio.

"Whhhhaaaattt?!" He exclaimed as he listened to the song. He began bobbing his head back and forth, swaying to the music. The other 3 were very confused. When the song ended, he reached over and restarted it again. And again. And again…. And again. By the time they finally reached the town plaza. The other 3 were bolting out of the car.

"Finally a moment of peace!" Aasiyah sighed. Amadeus climbed out of the car, having parked right in front of a Macy's, still more than a bit wet. They must have looked odd, because the cashier looked at them like they were aliens. Amadeus smiled brightly and waved, the cashier returning the gesture cautiously. They split up and began shopping. They each gathered an outfit and headed to the changing room. Aasiyah had chosen an olive green striped shirt, with a black hoodless zip up athletic sweatshirt, black skinny jeans, and a pair of matching olive green Vans shoes. Maximus wore a teal Champion tank top, light brown cargo shorts, and a pair of Jordans.

"This attire…. It pleases me." Maximus exclaimed to no one in particular. Lilith was wearing a black muscle shirt with a red tactical safari vest over top, black camouflage jeans, heeled black boots, and a red beret. Amadeus stepped out of his dressing room, wearing a plain light grey tee shirt, a faded brown leather racer, ripped slim fit jeans, and all-black Converse. He looked down at himself with a frown.

"Somethin' ain't quite right…." He muttered. He looked around, then froze. He sprinted over to a nearby display mannequin, dragging it into the dressing room. When he came back out, he was wearing the exact same thing, save a new "Bringing Sexy Bach" tee shirt, with Johann Sebastian Bach wearing sunglasses on it. He sat down on a nearby stool, slinging his arm around another mannequin.

"Now I look good! Whatcha think, Manny?" He looked at the mannequin, whose 'eyes' were covered by aviator shades. He reached over and plucked them off as well, placing them on. They all walked over to the checkout. The clerk, still staring at them, swallowed hard.

"Are you all set to…."

"What. Is. THAT?" Amadeus interrupted, opening the tiny fridge in the front of the counter and pulling out a Redline energy drink.

"Um, sir… you need to…" The clerk tried, but Amadeus had already opened it up and taken a sip. He smacked his lips, tasting the beverage.

"Whoa… mind blown!" He said taking another swallow. He grabbed the remaining 20 that were in the case, humming to Van Halen as he did. The lady rang up all of their items, including what they were wearing.

"Your total comes to $125.25." She said. Aasiyah placed a golden drachma onto the counter, and cut her off before she could object.

"Take this to any historian in the area, and ask him how much it is worth. You can keep the change." She stated.

"Ma'am, I don't think you understand, I'm not legally…." She began. Aasiyah tapped the blade strapped to her side, and Maximus cracked his knuckles. Lilith just looked at her with her normal glare, and Amadeus smiled, leaned forwards and whispered 'We kill people for money'. The lady gulped and took the coin.

"Th-thank you for shopping at Macy's." She squeaked. Aasiyah simply nodded.

"Let's go. We've got work to do." She ordered.

"Who made you the boss?" Lilith protested. Aasiyah whipped around and looked her dead in the eyes.

"Uh oh… the gauntlet has been thrown down." Amadeus whispered to Maximus, who nodded his head.

"5 drachma on the Aasiyah." He whispered back. Amadeus scoffed, looking up at him like he was crazy.

"Have you seen Lilith fight? Naw dude, my money is on the little one." Amadeus smirked, the 2 boys watching the girls argue like it was a tennis match.

"No one needed to. I have the most leadership qualities of any one of us." Aasiyah stated

"Yeah? Like what?" Lilith countered. Aasiyah stepped towards her, unafraid.

"A level head, leadership experience, vast wisdom, the ability to come up with a logically flawless plan on the fly, and the blessings of my mother, the greatest strategist in history." Aasiyah rattled off. Lilith growled, looking up at Aasiyah murderously.

"Yeah, well where I'm from, the leader is chosen in combat, not in theory. " Lilith grabbed the handle of her sword, Aasiyah doing the same. The cashier lady looked like she was going to pass out, Amadeus smiling over at her.

"Don't worry, this happens all the time. Just…. Keep your head down and you'll be fine."

"Most likely." Maximus added. The two girls stared each other down, both waiting for the other to make the first move, when Amadeus coughed, stepping between them, a serious look adorning his face for the first time ever.

"There is only one way to solve this feud, and to decide once and for all who is our leader." He said, his eyes darting back and forth between them. Lilith snickered, her grip on her sword tightening.

"Yeah, a battle to the death." She supplied.

"Yes… wait what? No! That's ridiculous!" He quickly corrected.

"No, the only way to solve this is how all 21st century folks do it; Rock, Paper, Scissors!" He exclaimed. Each girl looked at him curiously as he explained the rules.

"Ok, now you both start at the same time, and say 'Rock, Paper, Scissors!' and then throw either rock, paper or scissors." He explained, showing them each gesture.

"Then, I'll tell you who won! Deal?" For a moment, he almost thought they were going to ignore him and go back to gutting one another, but Aasiyah removed her hand from her blade.

"Very well. If this is how people of this century solve quarrels, we shall do the same. Agreed?" She asked, Lilith rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Fine. If we must." She groaned. Both girls placed out their hands, eyeing one another angrily.

"Rock… Paper… Scissors!" They both yelled. Aasiyah threw out paper, and Lilith rock. Lilith stomped her foot angrily, Aasiyah smirking.

"It was too predictable, Lilith; Of course you were going to try and crush me." Aasiyah explained.

"Fine, whatever. You're the leader. Happy now?" Lilith complained.

"Not until we bring the leader of the Syndikato to justice." Aasiyah stated seriously, the rest of the Requiators nodding in agreement. As they walked out, Maximus looked more confused than ever.

"Something wrong, big guy?" Amadeus asked.

"How can the rock crush the scissors…. But not the paper? Is the paper magic?" Maximus asked. Amadeus shrugged, hopping into the car.

"I think it's just how the game works, Maximus." Amadeus explained, then looked around.

"Hey, where's Aasiyah?" Amadeus asked. Aasiyah walked back into the store grabbed a pair of earbuds on the way out, nodding to the girl.

"Keep the change." Aasiyah yelled. The gashier looked pale and sickly, obviously quite frightened by their antics, but still managed to squeak out a "Have a nice day" before Aasiyah left. She climbed back into the car, looking forwards readily.

"Ok, here's the plan; first, we need to put some more distance between us and the Syndikato. After that, when we have the element of surprise, we track them down and take out their leader once and for all." Aasiyah explained. Amadeus smirked, twirling one of his swords.

"You the boss. Onwards!" He cried. Aasiyah started up the car and peeled out of the parking lot heading ever closer to their goal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A lone legionnaire rushed through the long, echoing hallways of the Syndikato base of operations as quickly as he could. When he finally reached his destination, he hunched over to catch his breath before entering through a large, open doorway and into the control center. He stood still as a statue, crossing his right fist over his body in an unorthodox salute.

"Grandmaster, the targets have been spotted; they are currently headed towards Casper, Wyoming." The soldier dutifully reported. The Grandmaster himself was shrouded in shadows, unable to be seen except for the outline of his figure. He appeared to be a taller, burly man; the outline of rippling muscles could be seen even in the shadows. He leaned forwards in his chair, which was positioned on a high platform overlooking most of the room, almost akin to a throne.

"Very good. These… 'Requiators' think that they can outsmart me, but I had long since planned for situations just like this. Prepare Req. 5 to seek and destroy them." He commanded. The grunt shuffled his feet, sweat visible on his brow.

"B-but sir; Req. 5 is still in the testing phase… it is hardly ready for field…" The soldier was stopped cold by the resounding sound of the Grandmaster's fist clenching, his knuckles cracking. The guard gulped, quickly shuffling towards the door.

"Right away sir." He squeaked, bolting through the doorway. The Grandmaster's chair swiveled around, facing an array of monitor screens, replaying the Requiator's escape over and over.

"Let the game begin."


	7. Chapter 7

Amadeus was sitting in the front seat, in practically the same position, and was about to turn up the volume when Aasiyah handed him the earbuds.

"Plug these in here, put them in your ears, and save us the misery." She commanded. He shrugged and did as she said, his eyes becoming huge when he heard the sound coming through.

"THIS IS WAY BETTER!" He screamed, causing them all to wince in pain.

"Shut up, loudmouth!" Lilith exclaimed.

"WHAT?" He yelled. She yanked the earbuds out and screamed right in his ear

"SHUT YOUR FAT FACE, AMADEUS!" He cleaned out his ear with his finger, a pouty look on his face for a split second, before it was overruled by his smirk.

"Hey, maybe we could stop by a music store on the way… Pick up a few CDs!" Amadeus exclaimed. Aasiyah looked over at him, her eyes conveying the message.

"Fine. Or we could…. Not be fun. That's cool too, I guess." He pouted, crossing his arms and looking out the window. After a few moments, he perked back up, kicking his feet up on the dashboard once more.

"You know, I was thinking; our names are too old fashioned. I mean, if we are trying to blend in, names like Amadeus and Aasiyah aren't exactly helping." He explained, twirling his swords around.

"Valid point. It also doesn't help that the people looking for us already know our names." Aasiyah agreed. Amadeus sat back even further, still spinning his swords.

"Alright, let's see…" he began.

"Why does HE get to name us?" Lilith objected. Amadeus looked at her confusedly.

"Um, cause I'm the name guy." He stated, like she should already know that.

"Says who?" She countered angrily.

"Says the Requiators." He smugly replied. Seeing her fire-like eyes turn ice cold would be enough to stop anyone's smugness dead in its tracks, but Amadeus was either too crazy or oblivious. He stuck his tongue out at her ornrily before turned back around, a ponderous look adorning his face.

"Aasiyah…. Aa….Siyah… hmmm… Siyah… Aay… nah.. Ayanah?" He asked. He looked over at her questioningly. She shrugged and nodded.

"I can live with that." She affirmed. Amadeus turned around in his seat, and made a picture frame with his hands, looking through them at a very uncomfortable looking Lilith.

"Hmmm…. What to name you..." He pondered under his breath. She scowled at him murderously. He simply chuckled before clearing his throat.

"What about… Lily?"

"... Ugh, fine! Whatever helps you sleep at night." Lily snarled, looking back out the window. Amadeus scoffed, mimicking her under his breath before moving on.

"Maximus… Was there ever any question? Max is an easy fix, eh?" He asked. Maximus nodded his head.

"Max it shall be." He decided. Amadeus leaned back in his seat, his work done. He popped another Redline, taking a huge drink.

"And you, Amadeus?" Ayanah asked questioningly. He glanced over, a big smile on his face.

"Oh, come on; you KNOW I save the best one for myself. It's easy, really; just take the first letters of my first and middle name, Amadeus Iapetus and you get…."

"A.I. Not bad at all." Ayanah nodded, moderately impressed. He put back on one earbud, leaving the other out.

"Hey; it's what I do." He shrugged, leaning back and listening to the music. They pulled up to a stop light, and saw a street-corner band, playing "What Love Is" by Foreigner. Amadeus pulled out the earbud, entranced by the band. He was especially intrigued by the drummer, who was really pouring his heart and soul into hammering out the beat to the song. Amadeus was twirling his swords as he watched with his window down, captivated. Then, as the guitarist took a solo, the drummer spun his drumsticks and bobbed his head slowly, taking it in. Amadeus froze, looking down at his blades, then back at the drummer. The light turned green and Ayanah peeled off down the road. Amadeus looked at his blades and focused, imagining them morphing into his little idea. When he opened his eyes, they had completely changed shape. They were now a pair of celestial bronze-steel drumsticks. The handles were wrapped in leather, and had embroidered into them 'Clock and Roll Instruments'. The tips of the drumsticks was made of Stygian Iron. A.I. smiled at them, before he attempted his first spin. They glided in a circle around his thumb like he had done it a thousand times. He easily began spinning them, putting the earbud back into his ear and air-drumming to "Not My Time". Lily leaned forwards, resting her chin on the shoulder of A.I.'s seat.

"Great… the freak never has to put down THOSE things; at least with the swords he had to take a freakin' break from twirling them like a psychopath." She grumbled. He gestured back at her with one, still drumming with the other.

"You know 'the freak' can hear you." He said, pounding into a one-handed drum solo.

"You know I don't give a crap." She mocked.

"Touche."He admitted, replacing the earbud and continuing to 'drum'. They drove for 3 hours in silence, save little noises like A.I. humming and Lily tapping on the window. Finally, A.I. pulled out the earbud, still twirling the left drumstick. He looked out the window behind them, then turned to Ayahna

"Hey, I think we've put enough distance between us and them to warrant a quick stop, huh? We're all tired and hungry, and could use a stretch." He convinced. He looked down the road, and saw an old, rustic looking truck stop.

"That place could be nice!" he exclaimed, pointing at a tiny truck stop restaurant with his drumstick.

"And it could also be just what it looks like; a dump." Lily mumbled. A.I. turned around and glared at her.

"Would it kill you to be positive?" He asked exasperatedly. She merely shrugged

"Don't know; never tried it."

"Unlikely. I do not think it is possible for positivity to kill someone." Max informed. A.I. gestured his drumstick at Max, twirling the other.

"See? It's completely harmless! Give it a try why don't ya, I mean, I bet you'd look way better smiling!" He said enthusiastically.

She contorted her face into a fake-forced smile. "I'm positive that the place will be a dump." A.I. cringed at the sight.

"Actually, never mind; you kinda just look constipated." He admitted. By that time, Ayanah had already pulled the car into the diner's parking lot, Lily groaning yet again. A.I. rolled his eyes, turning back around.

"Come on, Lil'; it's a tiny little restaurant. How bad could it be?" He asked cooly.


	8. Chapter 8

They all got out and walked into the diner, Amadeus smiling triumphantly as he slid the drumsticks into his pocket. A tiny bell rang as they opened the door. There was a sign right as you walked in that said 'Please, Seat Yourself'; So the 4 looked around and ended up choosing a booth in the far corner, next to the widow. The place looked like your typical truck stop; linoleum floors, booths on the right side against the widow, and backless bar stools running all the way down the counter. The ceiling was littered with all kinds of different ads, giving a quite the retro feel. A jukebox in the corner was softly playing old country hits from the 60's. They all sat down, and an older lady came over to take their orders. They all ordered burgers and fries with shakes, paying the lady with another drachma. Luckily, this lady must have know at least the value of gold, because she eagerly accepted the payment. As they waited for their food, they began to talk.

"So… I guess now's as good a time as any to get to know one another." Ayanah suggested. A.I. shrugged, Max nodded, and Lily seemed to ignore her. Ayanah began telling her backstory, about how when Athena left her father he became a heavy drinker, and he would abuse her, claiming it was her fault that Athena left. He would lock her into her room, and only let her out grudgingly when she had to eat. He had only kept her alive because her vast knowledge proved useful for winning bets. Eventually, she mustered up the courage to run away, and start a new life for herself. She was happy for a while; she started a new life, grew up, and was even scheduled to be married, but all that changed when one night her fiance was attacked and murdered. Ayahna swore that she would get vengeance, seeking out and killing the men that took her love. She decided to continue in the mercenary business;to make sure no one would ever have to share her fate. After Ayanah finished she sat back and crossed her arms. The waitress strolled up with their food, and A.I. was about to take a huge bite, when Lily suddenly grabbed his wrist. She sniffed, then sniffed again. She brought A.I.'s wrist, burger and all to her nose, sniffing it.

"Well…. This isn't weird at all." A very uncomfortable A.I. said.

"Nobody eat anything." Lily whispered. Max looked at her incredulously.

"I have a thirst only this meat patty can quench." he said hungrily.

"No, I'm being serious. There's something wrong with these things. They reek of magic." Lily explained, her nose wrinkling in adorable disgust. A.I. cocked an eyebrow.

"Ok, then… well, I guess we'd better be oh hello." A.I. didn't miss a beat as he was suddenly face to face with the waitress. For the first time since he got there, he took a good look at the her. She was wearing an odd looking head wrapping, completely covering her hair. She looked to be in her mid-40s, and had vibrant blue eyes.

"Oh, aren't you children going to try your meals? Our burgers are cooked with our world-famous secret spice." she informed, her voice dripping with sweetness. Lily sniffed the air again, growling softly like an angry puppy. The waitress looked at her, smiling down at her. Something felt… off. Her smile looked less friendly and more… hungry. They were all warriors; they knew when something was amiss.

"Actually, we really should be going…. And who puts spice on a burger? I mean, I know I'm new here, but still seems kinda-" A.I. said, starting to walk around her. She put a hand on his shoulder, which earned another growl from Lily.

"Oh, I do wish you would stay." Her voice had a dangerous edge to it that put all 4 of them at high alert.

"Lady, you best remove that hand. I get antsy when people touchy." A.I. warned.

"After all," she continued, "Tonight is karaoke night." She smirked. Ayanah's eyes grew huge.

"A.I.!" She cried. He instinctively threw this elbow back into the waitress' gut, grabbed her hand, and shoulder-threw her across the empty diner, crashing into a heap behind the counter. A.I. winced, throwing his hands up in apology.

"Sorry… I totally panicked." He admitted.

"Not your fault. That wasn't your average waitress, that was…" Ayanah abruptly fell silent as a soft noise could be heard from behind the counter. Ayanah grabbed the table, flipped it up, and dove behind it, the others following suit as battle instincts kicked in. They all drew their weapons, A.I. flipping his drumsticks and tapping the ends. They morphed back into his butterfly swords, ready to take out any threat.

"What is going on?" Max asked, his mace still forming.

"That thing isn't human." Lily explained, a scowl on her face. Max nodded at her cracking his neck.

"What exactly are we dealing with?" A.I. asked. They all looked over at Ayanah expectantly. Ayanah placed her first and middle fingers on her right temple, and squeezed her eyes shut. A few seconds later, her eyes shot back open.

"Perfect." She mumbled.

"What? What just happened? Do you have a headache or something?" A.I. asked. She rolled her eyes as another hiss could be heard coming from the other end of the room. The creature was waking.

"I told you; Wisdom's Touch. If I have time to focus, I can recall any information I have previously encountered; books, movies, even audio information."

Her eyes darted around, landing on the wall. The theme of the diner was the evolution of music, and right above them was an IPod glued to the wall. She reached up and slid her knife behind it, popping it off of the wall.

"That thing is a gorgon." She whispered. They heard it stirring behind the counter, the hisses becoming more coherent. She looked up at Amadeus.

"You still have those earbuds?" She asked. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the headphones.

"Yeah…" He said questioningly.

"Put them on." She instructed. "This is Euryale, Medusa's sister," She explained to the group.

"Watch you ears; Euryale is known in mythology for her deadly screech; she can produce near 120 decibels per scream; keep you ears covered. She can also use echolocation, making it dang near impossible to sneak up on her from any angle." She explained.

"How are we supposed to fight her when we have to keep our ears covered?" Lily whispered. They heard the gorgon moving around; she was waking up. A.I. reached into his pocket, producing 3 more pairs of earbuds. Ayahna raised an eyebrow, A.I. shrugging.

"I may have… borrowed a few pair from the second gas station." He smirked. She rolled her eyes, handing out the headphones.

"Ok, guys leave these in; they should be able to block the majority of the sound; at least enough that we can still fight." She explained. The 4 hopped out from behind the table. Euryale was back up on her feet, looking more than a little angry. She drew in a deep breath, and let out a powerful, earth-shaking scream. They could all feel the sound ripple around them, the glass windows behind them shattering. Even with the headphone earplugs the sound was deafening. After a moment she stopped, A.I. shaking his head.

"Wow… you've got some pipes!" He exclaimed, smirking nonetheless. Euryale straightened her apron, glaring at each one of them.

"Well, seems like you're tougher than you look." She griped, cracking her neck.

"Why are you doing this? Who sent you?" Ayahna demanded.

"The Syndikate has put quite the bounty on each and every one of your heads." She pointed at them one by one. A.I. looked between the 4, then Euryale dead in the eyes.

"Who's worth the most?" He asked, super seriously. His question caught Euryale completely off guard.

"I-I beg your pardon?" She asked. A.I. looked at her like he was trying to figure out if she seriously didn't get his question.

"The bounties; you said there's one for each of us. Who's bounty is the most?" He repeated. Lily slapped her forehead, Ayahna grabbing the bridge of her nose, and Max looking confused as usual. A.I. shrugged.

"What? An Assassin's bounty is like his… what is it called in the 21st century? Street Cred! Yeah! A mercenaries bounty is his street cred! So, how much is my bounty?" He asked. A.I.'s antics seemed to only anger her further.

"Do you take me as a joke, child?" She steamed. A.I. shrugged.

"How afraid am I supposed to be of an old gorgon who works a nine-to-five at a run down truck stop diner?" He questioned, raising his eyebrows. She clenched her fists, reaching into the front pocket of her apron and pulling out a giant, pointed tooth. She punched a hole into the linoleum flooring, and plunged the tooth deep into the earth.

"Perfect." A.I. deadpanned.

"Way to go, big mouth." Lily snarled at him.

"Wow, way to be encouraging." A.I. scoffed. They felt the ground under them rumble, the flooring beginning to crack all around them and dirt beginning to fly into the air. Euryale began cackling madly, a crazed look in her eyes.

"Well now, hero; how's that for washed up? Behold, the magnifi-" She didn't even get to finish as Max reached around and grabbed her by the neck, hoisting her into the air and snapping her neck in one clean motion, then chucking her body into the air, through the diner roof and out of sight. The other 3 looked at him cautiously.

"She was loud. And annoying." He explained, looking ahead and refusing to make eye contact with any of them. As if in response to the gorgon's death, a bony hand plunged out of the ground, clenching into a fist.

"Ok, skeleton-man. Any battle tactics, oh venerable one?" A.I. asked, taking a ready stance. The bones rose out of the ground, collecting and morphing together into one, giant Spartoi. It turned and glared at them, clearly not happy with being disturbed. Max stepped forwards, slapping his wristband, his mace growing into his hand.

"Stay back creature, or feel the mighty power of Maxi-" He was cut off when the creature swung its giant arm into him, sending him vaulting through the far wall of the diner, blowing a giant hole clean through. A.I. stuck his head through the hole cautiously, looking around. He nervously cupped his hands around his mouth.

"MARCO!" He yelled. For a moment, the was only silence. The spartoi started towards them, but A.I. jabbed out his first finger.

"Hang on!" He yelled. The monster stopped, confused by his antics.

"POLO!" Max's voice echoed over the valley. A.I. smiled, bringing his head back through the hole.

"He's fine." A.I. explained, before smirking at Lily.

"See, I told you team building exercises would come in handy!" He exclaimed. The monster was clearly fed up with A.I., grabbing at him. A.I. ducked out of the way, slashing at the monster's arm. He left a giant gash in the bone, but it didn't seem to bother the monster all that much. Lily ran and vaulted off of the wall, landing on the creature's back with an angry cry.

"DIE DIE DIE!" She screamed, swinging her sword into it violently. Ayahna struck its legs, and A.I. fought off the arms. The creature reached around, grabbing Lily off of its back and tossing her into A.I., then kicking Ayahna and sending her skidding across the floor. She stood up slowly looking at the other 2.

"We need to work together!" She yelled, both warriors nodding. Ayahna charged, then at the last moment slid under the monster's legs. It was so focused on her that it didn't even see A.I. pick up one of the bar seats, and was not at all prepared for the monster hit to the face. It reeled back, staggering right into Lily, who had grabbed some of the electrical wiring from the jukebox and threw it over the creature's neck. She tossed one end to A.I., and together the 2 demi-titans yanked the creature to the ground. Ayahna ran and jumped onto the countertop, jumping off and plowing her blade through the spartoi's head, shattering it into a thousand pieces. For a moment, there was no sound except for the 3's labored breathing, when suddenly the wall to their right exploded, another hole appearing right next to the one Max had created earlier.

"Argh! Have at me, creature!" Max bellowed, then looked around at the wrecked diner.

"You-You slayed the beast without me." He stated deflatedly. A.I. pat him on the shoulder, still heaving.

"Don't worry, big guy… there'll be others." A.I. promised. Suddenly, Max's eyes grew large.

"A.I., duck!" He cried. A.I. hit the deck, Maximus swinging into and catapulting the monster's body into the air, straight through the diner roof. Ayahna looked between them.

"Let's get going. I'm sure the authorities will be here soon."

"Crap, let's roll!" A.I. agreed. They were walking out, when A.I. saw it. The diner's theme, although they had been too 'preoccupied' to notice, was 'The Evolution of Music", because all along a large shelf sat different means of portable music. A Walkman, a CD player, and a 3rd Generation Ipod Nano. A.I. reached up, his hand slowly inching towards the Walkman, when he suddenly U-turned and grabbed the golden Ipod before bolting out of the diner to catch up with the others.

"Hey, weird question; where do think that gorgon chick ended up?" He asked. He soon got his answer, when they got back to the sedan and saw the hood and roof were completely smashed and covered in golden dust. A.I. threw his hands up, letting them fall and slap against his thighs.

"Well, perfect. Now we have no wheee…" He trailed off, looking around Max at something behind him that brought a smile to his face.

"Bingo." He said, gesturing to what he saw. A car lot, called Castalia's Custom and Classic Cars. Ayanah looked up and down the road, and saw that this was the only lot in sight. The group headed over to the lot, to see if they couldn't find a new ride. There were about a dozen or so cars lining the road, Old 60s and 70s Camaros and Mustangs and other classic cars. They walked up to the main building, a tiny trailer with a sign that read 'Main Office' hanging above the doorway. They opened the door, and were instantly greeted by a beautiful young woman. She had long, strawberry-blonde hair, and a cheerful smile.

"You must be.." A.I. started

"Castalia. A pleasure." She said, extending her hand. She noticed the blade strapped to Ayanah's side, and her smile widened.

"Ah, Half-Bloods. Always a pleasure to do business with family." She said excitedly.

"Then you are the same Castalia from the legends." Lily asked. A.I. spun a drumstick in thought.

"Wow, what are the odds! But weren't you turned into a fountain?" He asked. She chuckled lightly at the question.

"Common misconception. Apollo dedicated the fountain to me. Somehow, that myth got spread around. But yes, I am the Castalia that you are thinking of. How can I be of service?" She asked politely.

"Our previous ride had a little bit of… engine problem." Ayanah explained, gesturing to the diner across the street, where the sedan sat smoking. A.I. held up his fingers, a tiny space between them.

"We got into a… minor fender-bender." He said lightly. Max looked at him like he was a psychopath.

"Minor? HA! I took out the entire electronic chariot with that gorgon!" Max said offendedly. A.I. shrugged, then turned to Castalia.

"So…. you guys need a ride? I think I can hook you up. Of course, first we'll need to discuss payment. I take American Dollars, but I really prefer…" She was interrupted by Ayanah slamming the bag of drachma down onto the counter. Castalia's eyes widened when she saw they were prime-condition originals.

"One of these, and you can take your pick." She said greedily.

"Deal. Care to show us around?" Ayanah asked.

"Not at all. So, I'm guessing that you're going to need a 4-seater? I'll see what we've got." Castalia walked out of the room and into her 'office', which was really just a tiny picked up the phone and talked to someone for a few minutes before walking back out to the group.

"I've got one of my mechanics bringing out a car." She informed. They all walked outside and waited, until a man pulled around the giant garage in a giant old boat of a car.

"This is a 1970 Cadillac Miller-Meteor. I just got it in the other day. As you can see, it…" She never got to finish, as the whole group spoke in unison

"Huh-uh." Ayanah said

"I am not riding in that thing." Lily grumped

"This thing is an ugly nightmare." Max commented honestly

"Nope nope nope!" A.I. agreed.

"Well, this is the only 4-seater I have in stock right now…" She said thoughtfully. After a moment, She looked up and snapped her fingers.

"Actually, I take that back. I do have one other if your interested…" She asked. They all vehemently shook their heads. She walked them around the first building, to what looked like a tiny airplane hanger in the back, talking as she walked.

"We got this a few years back; it was a custom order from some high-dollar mortal billionaire. He had this thing decked out with all the bells and whistles; it was super expensive. At the last minute, he pulled out, leaving me with this million-dollar car and no one to buy it. That's why it slipped my mind." She explained. They reached the hanger, and Castalia flipped on the lights. There were many, many expensive looking cars in there, but one in particular caught their eye.

"This is our custom 1986 Lamborghini Lm002." She said proudly. The group was in awe. The thing looked like the demon child of a sports car and a tank. It was jacked up at least 12 inches off of the ground, giving it a look of superiority. It was painted a flat black, and had a custom golden barb wire vinyl pinstripe down either side, and sweet looking rims, with dually rear wheels, making it look that much more tanked.

"This custom dually is the only one of its kind, ordered with Black Maverick D610 rims, military grade ADF bull bars, and dual Trinity Stage S mufflers. Whoever this billionaire was, he was preparing for war" Castalia chuckled. A.I.'s jaw was practically on the floor.

"What about the…" He began.

"Bose surround sound system." She informed. He nodded his head excitedly.

"I likey." He stated, rubbing his hands together greedily.

"I think this is the one. That is, if you are willing to part with it." Ayahna added quickly. Castalia smiled.

"For this? I'd part with it twice." She chuckled. She handed Ayahna the keys to the new truck, her eyebrows arching.

"I'm assuming that you're the driver out of the bunch." She asked. Ayahna nodded, taking the keys.

"I hate to bother, but…. My friends and I are looking for someone in particular, someone who isn't exactly easy to get a hold of. Kind of a phantom, if you know what I mean. Anyways, I was wondering if you knew of any place we could find information on someone like this?" Ayahna asked. Castalia stroked her chin for a moment in thought.

"I might know a way… but it's way too dangerous…"

"Dangerous is my favorite kind of way." Lily smirked, pulling her scimitar out of its sheath for a moment to prove her point. Castalia shook her head, a worried look on her face.

"I don't think you understand; this is a suicide mission." She tried to reason. A.I.'s eyes brightened, as did his smile.

"Sounds like fun. Where to?" he asked. Castalia looked between the 4 warriors, her eyes begging one of them to tell her that this was all a joke. Finally she shook her head, and walked back into her trailer. When she came back out, she was carrying a map. She set the map down on the hood of a nearby car, pointing to a spot that had been highlighted.

"Here is where you are now." She explained, gesturing to the 'X'

"Green River, Wyoming. Somewhere in this region," She gestured to Omaha, Nebraska

"There is a certain Olympian who may be able to help you. But I'm warning you; the whole place is covered in monsters. If you can even find her. Rumor has it the place is a hidden fortress; few have ever found the entrance, and fewer lived to tell the tale. Just be careful, ok?" She asked. They all nodded, turning towards the car.

"If you need anything, just visit one of my stations. They're all over the place. And let's just say we do more than just cars. And here, take my card. If you need anything… call me." Castalia insisted.

"Shotgun carries over to this car, right?" A.I. asked. Lily scoffed, mimicking him as they climbed into the massive vehicle. Ayahna turned the key, and it roared to life. She hit the gas, and it screeched out of the hanger, and just like that they were off down the road.

As Ayahna drove, the group deciphered the map that they had been given, A.I. spinning a drumstick as Lily looked over the map.

"Well, it looks like whatever we are looking for is going to be in a highly populated area. I suggest we lay low until we find whatever it is. Do we even know?" she questioned

"I have a few guesses." Ayahna nodded. Lily sat back and crossed her arms.

"Well, whatever it is will most likely be heavily guarded by monsters. We seriously need to start making better strategies. You guys are all, 'Oh, let's just run in and get hung by our own entrails!' " Lily said, the end dripping with mockery.

"I can see the future, I'm pretty sure that counts for planning, sister." A.I. said defensively, flicking through the radio stations. Lily looked at him in shock, then reached up and turned the volume all the way off.

"Hey!" A.I. protested

"You can WHAT?" She demanded. He gave her a confused look.

"See… the future? I thought we already had this conversation!" He exclaimed, looking around for support. But Max and Ayanah looked equally as baffled.

"Oh, wow…. Weird…." A.I. shrugged, twirling one drumstick, looking off into the distance.

"Well…. Explain!" Lily demanded. A.I. shrugged again, looking out the window.

"When I'm fighting, or if I try hard enough, I can see the future. Not much, a few seconds mostly, and a few minutes if I really try, but…. Yeah. Future sight. More of a 'Deja-vision' really." A.I. explained. Lily's eyebrow arched in disbelief.

"Prove it."

"Prove it?"

"Prove it." Amadeus sat back and focused, reaching out into the future. After a moment, he opened his eyes, his classic smirk adorning his face.

"Ouch." was all he said turning back around. Lily was even more confused than before.

"Ouch? How does that pr…" she was interrupted when the car hit a bump, causing her head to smash into the roof. She grabbed her head in shock and realization, glaring murderously at A.I.

"Don't look at me, I didn't make you do it. I told you it would happen!" A.I. said defensively. Ayahna rolled her eyes at the 2 bickering.

"Hey, you two; let's all just calm down." She commanded. A.I. stuck his tongue out at Lily before turning back around. She growled and leaned against the window, watching the scenery go by. A.I. reached into his jacket and pulled out the Ipod that he had taken from the diner, holding it up excitedly.

"I wonder what's on this thingy!" He practically squealed. Ayahna rolled her eyes incredulously.

"It was a prop, A.I." She explained as he opened the glove box; it had been retrofitted with just about every kind of charger out there, A.I. plugging it in.

"I highly doubt it even works, much less has anything on it." She finished, just as the Ipod flickered to life. A.I. looked over at her excitedly. The speaker suddenly dinged, and a british female voice came over the speaker, A.I. looking around surprisedly.

"New device detected. Now connecting via Bluetooth." A.I. navigated to the songs section.

"Oh look; 5000 songs in a folder entitled 'Personal Favorite Hits of All Time!' He snarked playfully, Ayahna gulping.

"Oh, please no…" She whimpered.

"Oh, please YES!" A.I. cheered, pressing play. "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen came blaring over the speakers as the Requiators sped off, determined to find this Olympian and get one step closer to their ultimate goal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The leader of the Syndikato sat back in his chair, rewatching the footage from the diner.

"They're better than I expected; and they've learned to work together much more efficiently than I originally projected. Interesting." He whispered. Suddenly the door opened as the shadowy figure turned his chair around to face his visitor. It was the same guard who he had talked with a few days before, standing there sweating and saluting.

"Sir, Req. 5 will be up and operational in about 3 days." He explained. The man simply gestured.

"Very Well. Keep me updated." He commanded. The guard scurried out of the chamber, leaving the man alone once again as he swiveled around once again, pausing the video and staring at the screen.

"Prepare yourselves 'Requiators'. The true battle has yet to begin."


	9. Chapter 9

After driving for about an hour, A.I. listening non-stop to his playlist, which was admittedly enjoyable, since they weren't even half way through and still hadn't listened to all of the songs, A.I. turned down the music, and turned to Lily, a curious look on his face.

"So, since we have nothing but time, and since Ayahna here already initiated the conversation, maybe you could tell us your back story! What makes your adorable 'wil head tick?" A.I. joked, Lily growling in response.

"You don't wanna know." She said quietly, looking out the window. A.I. leaned loser, making her uncomfortable.

"Yes I do." He insisted.

"Trust me, you really don't." She reassured, leaning back. Although he was crazy and almost always goofing around, he wasn't so crazy that he didn't notice it was bothering her alot. A.I. looked over at Ayahna, asking her to pull over. Once the car had come to a stop, he closed his eyes and snapped, time in the car freezing. He hopped into the back, then gently touched Lily's arm. She looked around curiously. The other 2 looked like they were flesh statues, literally not moving an inch.

"What the-"

"I froze time… only for a little while. You looked something was really bothering you a few seconds ago; care to talk about it?" A.I. asked more seriously then she had ever heard him before. When she didn't answer, he sighed, looking her dead in the eyes.

"Look, I've been really trying to get to know you and to at least become semi-friends, but it is really hard when I'm the only one making the effort. Something is on your mind, I can tell; something you haven't let out. It's eating away at you." He stated. Lily looked completely shocked.

"H-How did you?" She began. A.I. rolled his eyes.

"Please, I'm insane, not stupid." He scoffed. For a moment, no one said anything. Finally, A.I. climbed back into the front seat.

"Fine, you don't have to tell me. Thought maybe it would help to actually talk to someone." He shrugged. Lily drew in a deep shaky breath.

"This stays between us?" She asked. For the first time since they had met, A.I. saw her vulnerability, and she saw his genuine, sane, compassion. They both realized the same thing; that the other was more human than they had ever though a titan child could be. A.I. moved back into the back seat, Max leaning up against the window, frozen looking out it and up at the sky.

"Absolutely. My lips are sealed." He promised. For the first time ever, he wasn't smirking, or smiling; his brow was furrowed and his expression serious. He genuinely meant every word. Finally, Lily began her story.

"My mother and I were left alone by my father. I didn't know why at first, all I knew was that all I had in this world was my mom. We were servants to a military general; A very successful conqueror with a very short temper that he didn't know what to do with, so he decided to take it out on us. I guess he thought that the child of a titan was a grievous abomination, because we became his personal slaves. Mom would always protect me... and get the worse of the punishments, but sometimes…." She hesitantly turned and lifted her shirt off of her back, revealing scars from everything from whips and swords, to broken pottery. She let her shirt down and continued.

" I got so desperate I would pray to the gods. I begged for help, for them to save us from the general's abuse, but of course they never came. I asked my mother why, but she always told me to think of my father instead of the gods." She stole a glance at A.I. She had never seen such a serious look on his face; he looked angry, and reminded her a lot of pictures she had seen of Kronos. She shook it off, continuing.

"When I was 6, the general lost a key battle, and was more angry than I'd ever seen him. He pulled his sword on me, demanding to know where Pallas' blessing was that day. I didn't know… how could I?" Tears welled up in her eyes, A.I. reaching over and taking her hand. To her surprise, she didn't yank away or bite him. His hand was warm and calloused; a steady anchor.

"Lily… would you let me see?" He barely whispered. She looked at him confusedly.

"Your memory, I can… here, watch. If you want me to stop, just say so." He reached over, placing his hand on her right cheek, his fingertips touching her temples. She suddenly saw him in her memory, standing right next to her as they watched the general, a tall, medium bulk, obviously drunken man advance towards her with a blade in hand.

"You were supposed to be a good omen, creature. You were supposed to bring me victory!" Both Lily and young Lily winced as his voice rose, A.I. taking her hand again. They watched as the general raised his blade against an adorable 6 year old Lily. Suddenly, her mother, beaten and bloody, smashed a nearby pot on the generals back. He turned in a drunken rage, driving his blade clean through Lily's mother. Older Lily looked on, tears rolling down her usually grumpy face as her mother crumpled in front of her. A.I. looked angry; more angry than he had ever been. The air around him rippled like water, the sheer energy of his anger radiating everything around them.

"Mommy!" Young Lily ran over to her mother, hugging her tightly and crying. The general shook off the shards of pottery before stalking towards her.

"Where is your father now?" He spat. Little Lily's expression hardened into the one A.I. was so used to seeing; rage. She roared and caught the blade mid-air, ignoring the massive cut to her hand. She snapped the blade in half, stabbing one shard into his knee and lifting him off the ground. She slammed him down, snapping his neck.

"You… you think you have won? The.. the Legion has claimed you mother's soul. I will be reborn, greater than before. Long live Pi…" The general's eyes glossed over, his body disintegrating into dust. Little Lily just sat there, unmoving, until a bright flash of light exploded into the tent. When she could see again, Lily saw a blade lying in the middle of the room, with a note attached.

"So sorry I couldn't do more, still trapped.

FIND PI!

~ PALLAS"

Little Lily sniffled, picking up the blade and strapping the sheath around her chest, then bolting out of the tent. As she ran, the tears flowed freely until there were none left. She passed out on a large stone after travelling by foot so far her bare feet were swollen. She woke the next morning with her ever classic steel expression. She was determined to achieve her only goal in life: Find Pi and kill him. With that the memory faded, and the 2 were back in the truck, A.I.'s hand still resting on her cheek, now wet with tears. He gently wiped her cheek, a look of sorrow and anger in his eyes. Lily looked like she just didn't know what to do, her personal thoughts so exposed to the last person she'd ever expect. He suddenly engulfed her in a hug.

"Stab me if you want to… I needed this." His voice cracked a little bit. Lily even surprised herself, hugging him back. They sat there for a moment, until A.I. let go.

"Thanks for sharing, Lil." He said honestly.

"Thanks for listening." She admitted. This was the first time Lily had ever spoken to him without a harsh, metallic tone. Her voice was so soft and warm, and she looked exactly like her mother.

"This. Goes. Nowhere." She growled only halfway playfully. A.I. crossed his heart, a confused look adorning Lily's face.

"What in Hades was that?" She asked, A.I. shrugging.

"21st century way of saying I promise." He winked, climbing into the front seat. He turned back to her once more, a genuine look of care on his face.

"We don't have to do the music… if it bugs you…"

"Panama." She spoke out of the blue. A.I. cocked an eyebrow, then smirked classically.

"Yes ma'am." He snapped his fingers, Ayahna turning to look at him.

"What's up, A.I.?" She asked curiously. He reached under his seat, pulling out his drumstick.

"Thanks, I dropped this! Thought I had lost it!" He lied. Lily actually had to hide a smile, Ayahna just rolling her eyes.

"Can we please only stop if it's important! We've got a schedule to ke-" A.I. cranked the volume up above her voice, Panama by Van Halen booming out of the speakers. Ayahna punched him in the arm before maneuvering back onto road, the Requiators rocking and rolling their way towards their destination, new friendships blossoming as each, admittedly or not were nodding along with the music, 2 or 3 of them even mouthing the lyrics. They drove for another half an hour, until Ayahna decided to pull over at an inn, so they could all rest up, and get ready to continue their trek towards vengeance.


	10. Chapter 10

Lily woke up the next morning how no teen ever should; with the sun it her eyes. He growled and rolled over, but knew she couldn't get back to sleep, so she jumped up and got a shower. After fumbling with it and finally figuring out how to turn it on, she actually enjoyed it. The hot water felt really good, soothing her scars, and cleaning off literal eons of pain. She couldn't help but think of her conversation with A.I. the night before. It was weird; she had assumed he was either a total goof-off or genuinely 100 percent insane, but he had almost seemed… normal. Like he understood her pain. The look in his eyes, it was so angry and hurt and concerned all at once. She never thought that he would be capable of showing such genuineness. Once she was finished, she dried off and wrapped herself in a towel, then walked over to the sink, and saw Ayhna had woken up as well, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Water's still hot." Lily informed. Ayahna nodded, stumbling her way to the shower. Lily rolled her eyes. She tried to remember back to when A.I. had first rescued them, and caught them up with the times. She snapped her fingers, remembering they had something called a hair dryer. She grabbed up the weird, almost gun shaped device.

"How does this thing…" She began. Suddenly, she accidentally slid the button to warm. She freaked out and dropped it when it came whirring on, but got used to it pretty quick. She dried her hair, loving how it felt. She got dressed back into her clothes, Ayahna washing all them the night before. The hotel, as they found out it was called, was actually way nicer than they originally believed, and the person at the desk, who turned out to be studying archaeology, accepted their payment of drachma without hesitation. Lily stepped out of the room, and began walking towards where they had come into the place. It was an open arcade area, that connected to the pool and hot tub room. She saw A.I., sitting in the hot tub alone, listening to his music. She almost walked right by, but noticed something that stopped her cold. All over A.I.'s back were scars, just like hers. She walked into the room, hearing him humming along to Detroit Rock City by Kiss. When he saw her out of the corner of his eye, he paused his music, smirking up at her as he got out of the tub. Lily was very surprised he was… ripped. She had never seen him shirtless, and always assumed he was just a twig. He was actually really well built, but she wasn't there to observe his muscles.

"Sup, Lil?" He asked, still smiling, sloshing over to his towel, ruffling it through his honey blonde hair. He snapped his fingers, and was suddenly dry. Lily looked confused, so he explained.

"This is me… 10 minutes into the future." He explained.

"And you can time travel?!" She exasperated.

"Only about 20 minutes either way. But trust me, it is very dangerous to mess with time. But enough about that, what brings you in here?" He asked curiously.

"Your scars." Lily stated. She was never one to pull punches, but could see A.I.'s smirk disappear.

"Yeah… I've got a few here and there. And there. And there." He pointed them out.

"You never told anyone about you. Now I'm starting to think you're avoiding it." Lily prodded. He shrugged.

"Not much to tell. Mom has a baby with a Titan in return for a favor, and King Athens doesn't like it at all. Thinks the kid is a freak, even among half bloods. The kid never becomes a part of the family, his own siblings hate him, and his 'father' abuses him for even existing. So, one day, the kid decides he's had enough, and runs away. First night alone, a monster finds him and runs him through with a spear."

A.I. instinctively touched a scar on his left side, his face contorting in pain.

"Had to cauterize that one… anyways, boy keeps running, until he finds his true calling; mercenary work. Gets caught, meets his new friends, the rest is history." A.I. stood up, cracking his back, smirking for no good reason. He picked up the Ipod, putting in an earbud.

"Wanna go get breakfast? I'm starving!" He admitted. But before he could turn away, she grabbed his arm, A.I. stopping cold. She could feel him tense up, like he knew this was coming.

"What aren't you telling me?" Lily asked concernedly. He turned and looked her in the eyes, his golden orbs seeming more dim than usual. For a moment, he considered telling her that he was going to end up dying in her arms, but decided against it.

"It's nothing, Lily, seriously." He reassured. She growled and rolled her eyes, pushing past him.

"Fine, let's go get some breakfast. Hopefully there's some guts to spill today, I'm getting bored." She grumbled, storming out of the pool area in a huff, A.I. right behind. He placed an earbud back in just in time to hear the beginning of High Voltage by AC DC. He reached into a now-dry pocket in his new trunks, feeling for his drumsticks.

"Crap. Where did I put those?" He whispered to himself. Lily cleared her throat, a coy smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth.

"Looking for something?" She asked. He smiled brightly, waking over.

"Thanks, Lily. Don't know what I would do without these bad boys!" He exclaimed, twirling them both at mach speeds before air drumming away. As A.I. headed to get changed and Lily headed towards the breakfast hall, he was finally left alone with his thoughts. Talking about his past always made him uncomfortable. He got to his room, opening the door and putting on his clothes. He threw on his jacket last, observing himself in the mirror. The jacket, though a bit faded, still looked great. He looked closer with a frown, noticing a rip in the arm, probably from that fight with the gorgon. He snapped his fingers, and the coat slowly became less and less worn, and more like when he had first gotten it at the store, until it looked brand new. Little things were ok to mess with; spilt milk, a stain on a shirt, removing a dent from a car. These were all small, mundane things that, although they really got under the Fates' skin, they wouldn't do anything about. It was big things, like saving a person from getting his by a car that they wouldn't stand for, and to be honest, A.I. understood why. He had see first hand the drastic alterations that one life can cause, and let's suffice it to say the Fates were pretty ticked at him for a while. Shaking that off, he headed down to the hallway to the wafting fragrance of breakfast food, when he accidentally bumped into one of the room service ladies.

"Sorry about that, miss." He apologized, but was frozen in place when he saw her face. Tan skin, with freckles splotched on her cheeks and nose, and those vibrant blue eyes he would never forget. He was suddenly thrown into a memory… one that he was still haunted by.

A.I. couldn't remember much… her face looking frightened and sorrowful… him, looking up and promising to return to her. Then, the part that really blurs; Tartarus. The land beyond the fates, beyond time. He was there alone, only able to go back in time to just before the tiny hole closed shut. He remembers being on a mission… he couldn't remember what or for whom, but what he did remember, he tried not to. The suffocating toxin he would come to call air, the reeking stench of death and sulfur poisoning his lungs, the incessant heat… gods, the heat. He had only one hope; find the fabled secret escape route out of this place. He remembered drinking out of the "river", burning his lungs like acid, and tasting like stale sweat and hopelessness. People could say what they wanted about the Underworld; this place was the true hell. He had trekked for days, then weeks, then months, years… walking until his feet bled… and then continuing. Time slurred together as he felt as though he were under some sort of mind altering drug. The only way for him to stay alive was to turn back time whenever he was almost dead; be it by starvation, dehydration, or the unkillable beasts roaming the lands. This took a toll not only on his body, but in his mind. He remembered clearly sitting underneath a primitive shelter he had constructed, and bursting out into laughter for no good reason at all, and he couldn't stop. His mind had stretched thin, rewinding time and reliving the same empty stomach aching, the same dry lungs and cracked lips, the same death over and over and over…. Many times he almost gave up, hoping that some random creature would just end him already. But, having reversed time to stay alive so many times, and since this place had no Fates to hold him back, his body had adapted to survive that place. Every time he would die, time would reverse and he was still there, still trapped. And yet, he still laughed his was through the place, years of searching. Having reversed time so often, his body was still 15, but his mind was more like 20. He remembered the holy, blessed, unbelievable day when he saw a monster disappear through a tiny "hill". He had found it. He remembered staggering over to the same spot, falling through. The first thing he remembered was the air. He sucked it in greedily, chuckling as tears rolled down his face. He rested for a long while, lying there and sleeping for 2 whole days out in the woods. He found his way to a river, greedily drinking up the water… real water… until his throat hurt. He sat up and realized something horrific: He couldn't remember. His past was a blur, remembering bits and pieces, but he couldn't recall much of anything past his mother and a few choice memories of getting beaten. Yet still he laughed, his mind having been forever broken. He had found his way to a town, and began to heal. After awhile of working on the docks, his mind had healed as much as it ever would. He was functional, and that was the best he could hope for. Time reset as A.I. apologized, remembering someone with the same face as this lady was connected to his time in the Pit. Lily was right; A.I. was avoiding telling her his origin. Because A.I.'s origin story came from the depth of Tartarus.


	11. Chapter 11

A.I. made his way to the breakfast area, the others already eating. Ayahna had a some apples, an orange, and a banana; Lily got a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs, and Max had 4 plates piled high with all of the above. A.I. smelled something delicious coming from the far table, and strolled over to see a weird looking machine. It had a timer on it that was slowly counting down, and looked like a circle made of squares. It smelled really good, like the smell of fresh bread, only… sweeter. A.I. jumped when the machine began beeping, a 10 year old boy coming over and flipping the square-circle upside down and opening it to reveal a fluffy, sweet smelling bread circle… a waffle, A.I. recalled. He looked over at the boy, his eyes wide.

"Show me how to make the magic bread, child." He whispered.

"Um, you mean how to make waffles?" The boy asked.

"Yes, that one." A.I. nodded vigorously.

"Ok, first get a cup and fill it with batter. Then, pour it in and flip the handle. When it beeps, your waffles are done." The boy explained. A.I.'s smile brightened tenfold.

"Kay! Thanks" He chirped as he grabbed one of the tiny batter cups and poured some into the steaming waffle mold, humming along to Your Love by The Outfield as he did. He turned it upside down, and watched as the timer reset itself. Although his backstory wasn't so… happy, A.I. had learned to make the best of a bad situation. He looked over at his friends as they quietly talked amongst one another, each having their own story to tell, and crosses to bear. For the first time in his life, A.I. felt that he was finally with people who understood the pain, and knew the feeling of being outcast. He finally felt like he belonged. He walked around the room, grabbing some other stuff for breakfast as well; eggs, fruit, bacon, bacon, bacon. Unfortunately, his music was so loud that he didn't even hear his waffle timer go off. It wasn't until that same boy came over and tapped him on the arm that A.I. saw the waffles beginning to smell rather… burnt.

"Oh, crap!" He cried as he bolted over to the waffle maker, turning and opening it to reveal a charred, black, smoking waffle. The young boy laughed at the sight, A.I. frowning very unhappily. Suddenly, he had an idea, smirking deviously. He grabbed a napkin, covering the charcoal circle, the curious boy still giggling and watching. A.I. snapped his fingers, and lifted the napkin dramatically, 3 perfectly cooked, toasted brown waffles sitting on his plate. The kid's eyes grew to the size of bowling balls, A.I. winking and pouring syrup all over them.

"Magic!" He whispered, the boy running over to his family's table, pulling on his mom's shirt sleeve and pointing over at A.I. He strolled over with his 2 plates, sitting next to Lily and Ayahna, who looked at him quizzically.

"Ok, now that one you've got to share. How'd you do it?" Ayahna asked. A.I. looked around to make sure no one was listening, then leaned forwards.

"It's called a Paradoxical Duplicate. Basically, I reversed time on the first waffle, making it perfectly brown. Then, I went back in time and took that same waffle from 5 seconds ago, and then did it again. Boom, stack of waffles." He explained. Ayahna calculated what he had just said.

"So.. you can go back in time…"

"Yep."

"... and bring things from the past to the present?" She asked. A.I. swallowed, gesturing with his fork much like he did his drumsticks or sword.

"Yep. Waffle from the past, brought to the present, to be enjoyed in the future." He chuckled, slamming another waffle.

"Ok, but what's to stop you from going back in time and, say, telling yourself the future?" She asked. A.I. thought for a moment, then grabbed his perfectly flat butter knife, and the salt and pepper shakers. He tipped over the toothpick holder, balancing the knife on it, creating a seesaw scale of sorts.

"So, let's pretend this is time." He explained gesturing to the knife.

"Perfectly orderly, straight, balanced." He held up the salt

"The salt represents the past, and the pepper is the future. Events in the past directly balance out the present and future." He set it on one end, he knife tilting to one side. He held up the pepper, and set it on the other, balancing the scales.

"See? Balance. Now, when I go back in time and, say, fix my waffles." He picked up one toothpick, setting it carefully on one side. The scale rocked a slight bit, but was otherwise unaffected.

"Not much happens. The scales stay balanced, because in the long run my decision doesn't alter the timeline. Me having waffles or not is really of little importance in the grand scheme of things. Now, if I go back," He picked up a large grape from his plate.

"And warn myself of any detail of the future; my death, your death, how to avoid more… unpleasant memories…" He set the grape down on the salt shaker as carefully as possible, but still it tilted over.

"Balance is lost." Ayahna whispered. The others suddenly held a new respect for A.I.; they were under the assumption that being able to manipulate time would be a non stop adventure, but in reality it seemed more like constantly walking on eggshells. He may be crazy, but he was still much more careful than originally believed.

"But, what then happens when balance is lost?" Max asked curiously, eating away at his 5th plate.

"The Olympians have their demigods to do their dirty work when things start going south, so does Papa time." A.I. explained, ripping into his final waffle.

"Time's dirty workers being…" Ayahna probed on. A.I. wiped his mouth with the napkin, looking up at her seriously.

"Phantasms. Legendary, even by mythical standards. Trust me, you do not want to mess with them. Kronos himself supplies them power… making them practically unkillable. So few have ever seen them that most don't even know they exist. Even among the gods they are a whisper. The few that have say that they are demons, but they're not." A.I. shook his head, almost completely done eating. For a few moments, all was silent, until Lily spoke up.

"Well, what ARE they then?" She asked. A.I. looked like he had suddenly lost his appetite, moving the remaining food on his plate around with his fork.

"Ever wonder why you don't see any other half-human children of Kronos running around? Why there isn't a turnt up kids of Kronos posse in the Underworld?" A.I. asked, and suddenly the room felt colder.

"So… so they?" Ayahna began asking, A.I. staring at his plate and nodding glumly.

"Yep. Daddy sold our souls to the devil… well, actually to himself, but still. He's a bit of a control freak. And what he does control, he wants to keep that way. So, he has children with mortal women in exchange for one desire of their heart; wealth, power, a lost family member raised from the dead. Boom. No strings attached. All he asks is for the child's soul. When we die, we don't go to Elysium or even the Underworld, oh no. We become Phantasms, hideous creatures with the singular goal of enforcing time, and making sure it goes exactly as dear old pappy pa wants it to. Wonders never cease, huh?" A.I. asked sarcastically. When he saw the sour mood, he coughed, looking out the window at their car.

"Well, we have nothing to pack… what say ye we get back on the road, start goin' up the country to somewhere we've never been before?" He smirked, the joyous energy infectious as they all got up and headed out the door. Ayahna asked where she could sell her drachma for normal currency, and was told of a 'pawn shop' down the road a ways. They thanked the lady, hopped into their ride, and rolled off down the street once again, 'Goin Up the Country' by Canned Heat thumping out of their speakers.

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Camp Half-Blood was roaring with excitement; The summer breeze was wafting in from the ocean, and it was a beautiful warm day which could mean only one thing; Beach day. Practically all the campers were on the shores. Some of the younger kids built sand castles, others were laying out and catching a tan, and still others were swimming and playing beach volleyball. One young man in particular was enjoying himself. None other than Percy Jackson; twice savior of Olympus and hero of Camp. He was currently sprawled out on a beach chair next to his best friend and girlfriend, who of course had her nose buried in a textbook. He rolled over, propping his head up with his hand and sighed.

"When are you going to look up from that book and take in some of this gorgeous day, Wise Girl?" He asked, raising his eyebrow. She didn't even look up.

"One of us has to take school seriously, Seaweed Brain. Some of us have goals, you know?"

Percy chuckled, rolling over and sprawling out once again.

"My goal is to enjoy some of this peace and quiet while we can get it. It feels so refreshing to-" He was interrupted when a beam of water caught him off guard, hitting him in the face. He looked up. Leo standing in front of him with a Super Soaker, smiling like a 2 year old.

"Come on, Jackson." He commanded, his expression hardening.

"The war is upon us."

Percy looked over at Annabeth, who sighed and waved her hand.

"Go have fun, Percy. I think I can handle myself." She said. Percy shot up, reaching out and willing a bunch of water behind him.

"Jason and Frank are over there. They built quite the sand fort. How about we go blow it down?" Leo asked. Percy laughed, he and Leo running off to 'fight their enemy.' Chiron was in his office, filling out paperwork for the campers, when suddenly he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He knew the feeling, looking up and seeing Zeus standing in front of him.

"Lord Zeus, what a surprise." Chiron greeted. He instantly recognized the look of concern on Zeus' face.

"Is something wrong?" Chiron asked. Zeus sighed, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"Do you remember about a thousand or so years ago, when that mercenary boy simply vanished without a trace? And a few hundred years later, when the same thing happened to the gladiator?" Zeus asked, Chiron nodding.

"Yes, I remember clearly. Those were the ones you commanded we kept an eye on… the potential threats?" Chiron asked, Zeus nodding. His brow furrowed; Chiron rarely saw him look this troubled.

"They have somehow managed to survive all this time, and are now with the other 2 missing demis." He stated. Chiron's eyes widened as he leaned forwards.

"The other 2 assassins? They're all alive? But-But how? They should all be dead, unless they were with the Lotus Eaters; but they were told to inform you of any serious threats, were they not?" Chiron asked.

"Yes, and they said nothing. Regardless, they are all alive and well, roaming around freely in the modern era. And it gets worse; they are traveling together." Chiron about fell out of his seat.

"Those four are together? If they are working as a unit, there is no telling how much destruction they could bring." Chiron whispered. Zeus looked over at Chiron, a serious and sharp look in his eyes.

"They are a danger to the mortal world, so we need to… handle them." He explained.

"You mean kill them?" Chiron asked.

"If necessary, yes. But I would prefer they be brought back here, so that I can question them myself." Zeus suggested.

"A quest then?" Chiron affirmed.

"Send Ms. Chase, Tyson the Cyclops, Mr. Valdez, and Percy Jackson. And be sure to warn them of the danger of this quest; these are some of history's deadliest killers." Zeus warned before disappearing in a flash of light. Chiron sighed, leaning his head in his hands. So much for peace.


	12. Chapter 12

Percy had really been enjoying the peace and quiet; getting to spend time with his girlfriend on the beach, and to actually relax; it was great. No life threatening, world-ending quests; just peace. Of course, Percy would have been a fool if he did not expect it to be cut short. Case and point, he now found himself sitting in Chiron's office with Leo, Tyson, and Annabeth. Percy could tell something wasn't right. Chiron was rapping his fingers on the desk rhythmically, a look of deep thought on his face, like he was trying to figure out how to tell them they were all going to die. After what felt like an eternity, he finally spoke.

"Last night, I received a visit from Zeus. He informed me of some very disturbing news. About a thousand years ago, I was tasked with, among other things, keeping an eye on a very powerful demigod, who was working as a mythological mercenary; he would kill any creature or person for the right price, and was very good at his job."

"How good are we talking?" Leo asked. Chiron raised an eyebrow at him.

"Among many other rumored feats, he made his way through the Labyrinth alone." Chiron supplied.

"What? How?" Percy asked. Chiron's expression hardened.

"Apparently, he found his way out by killing everyone and everything inside." He said grimly. Leo gulped and sat back, deciding he had asked enough questions, Chiron continuing.

"One day, he simply… vanished without a trace. Gone. I reported this to Zeus, and he explained that this mercenary was hidden from him as well. After searching far and wide, we gave up. About 500 years later, I was assigned another demi to watch. She as well disappeared suddenly. There were 4 in total that mysteriously vanished, and all were some of the most lethal demigods of all time."

"Ok, but what does this have to do with-" Leo started, but was shot down when Chiron shot him a look.

"Shutting up." Leo sighed. Chiron cleared his throat before continuing.

"After all these centuries, we finally have the answer to this great mystery. These rouge demigods have resurfaced; they were somehow able to survive all those years, and are now travelling across the country for reasons unknown, which brings us to you four. Zeus has tasked you with finding and retrieving these demigods, and bringing them back to camp for further questioning." Chiron explained. He leaned forwards, a look of desperation on his face.

"Please, be careful. These are the most deadly mortals to have ever roamed the earth; I do not doubt that if you made them angry they would kill you without a second's hesitation. We cannot be sure of their mental state, but one thing is certain; they are all highly trained merciless killing machines. That is why we are sending you four; you are the most qualified demigods for this mission. You have had the most fighting experience, and are the most suited to fulfill this task. You will leave tomorrow morning. I expect you to Iris message me every day, and let me know you are safe. This is one of your most dangerous quests; please be careful." Chiron leaned back in his wheelchair, looking between each one. Percy stood up and walked out, Annabeth hot on his heels.

"Percy, are you ok?" She asked. When he didn't answer, she grabbed his arm, stopping him dead in his tracks. He was very tense, which meant something was definitely wrong. He sighed, turning around to face her. It was evident from the look on his face that all of this was bothering him quite a bit.

"It's just… I thought that we would finally get some time to relax and not have to worry about getting killed every five seconds." Percy shrugged.

"Honestly, I kind of expect it by now. First Kronos, then Gaia; something bad was bound to come crawling out of the ashes of those wars. And I guess this is it." Annabeth stated. Percy looked down at her, his brow scrunching.

"You think that they are really as dangerous as Chiron makes them sound? Those ancient demigod mercenaries?" He asked.

"If Chiron says they are that dangerous… they've got to be pretty dangerous, yeah." She nodded. She could feel Percy's whole body tighten up, nervous tension obviously setting in.

"However powerful they are, we'll stop them." He said firmly. By that time, the 2 had already walked back to the cabins.

"Well, we better go get packed. Meet you back here in 20 minutes." Annabeth said, Percy nodding and the 2 heading their separate ways.

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The mysterious leader of the Syndikato sat alone in the control room of the league's headquarters, rocking back and forth slowly in his cushioned seat, staring at the many monitor screens sprawled out in front of him, the REQs escaped footage over and over again, analyzing every move and swing, every slice and stab. There was no doubt in his mind; they were the most deadly warriors in history. Together, they were a nigh unstoppable force. Suddenly, the phone next to him rang.

"This had better be good news." He growled. The voice on the other end could be heard swallowing hard.

"Y-yes sir. Our task force has found the REQs, and is closing in on their location."

"Hmm… And REQ 5?" The leader asked.

"REQ 5 is on route to them as well, but the task force-"

"Your 'task force' is no match for these killers. The REQs will pick their teeth with the bones of those fools. They are merely a speed bump to slow them down enough that REQ 5 can arrive on sight. REQ 5 will be the one to subdue the Requiators. I expect you to report back to me as soon as the task is complete." The leader commanded, hanging up the phone. To his right sat a clear chess board, the pieces all set up. He smirked, picking up the black knight and examining it. The knight had the words "Heroes of Olympus" etched into the base.

"So, Zeus sends in his precious Percy Jackson to find my Requiators. Moves and countermoves." He whispered, forcefully moving the knight up next to the 'Requiators' black queen, and the 'REQ 5' white queen.

"The pieces all fall into line." He chuckled, leaning back in his chair.


	13. Chapter 13

As soon as Ayahna pulled the car into the gas station parking lot, A.I. paused midway through "Carry on My Wayward Son" by Kansas, yanking off his headphones, and swinging the door open dramatically, stuffing his headphones and Ipod into his inside jacket pocket as he went.

"Come on, we've been driving for like, 2 hours! I gotta pee!" He complained.

"We stopped at a gas station 30 minutes ago, why didn't you go then?" Lily asked annoyedly. A.I. groaned, already making his way to the gas station door.

"Because I didn't need to go then! Duh!" He scoffed. He quickened his pace when Lily jumped out of her seat, practically chasing him into the store. He quickly slammed the bathroom door, laughing when he heard her growl angrily, the others walking in to pick up some snacks for the road. After A.I. got done in the bathroom, he walked back out, his headphones already back in his ears as he chose a few snacks, whistling to "Sweet Caroline" by Neil Diamond as he did. He got a family size bag of salt and vinegar chips, and a giant bag of cherry sours. He made his way over to the fountain drinks, grabbing the largest one, filling it to the brim with Full Throttle energy drink. By then, the rest of the team already done making their own selections. Ayahna had discovered her own favorite drink, Pom Wonderful juice, and grabbed another one off of the shelf. The bell on the door rang out as 3 more customers walked in, just as the cashier clocked out and a new one strolled behind the counter. When all 4 of them had made their selections, the team made their way to the counter. Ayahna could feel something was off. He way those 3 guys had yet to make any selections, the way they were hanging out at the front of the store, and the fact that the new cashier's eyes were darting between them were all signs of a trap. She looked over at the others; they had noticed too. A.I. was already holding his drumsticks, tapping them rhythmically on his legs, and Max gripped his arm guard confidently, looking between the men.

"Is this the best the Syndikate can do? Man… I must say I am disappointed. It's like they don't even want to get us back." A.I. broke the silence with a smirk. The men were visibly surprised, tightening up at the realization that their cover had been blown. Ayahna put down their bags, cracking each knuckle in succession was she spoke.

"You have 2 options; You can either you let us go and we let you live." Ayahna began. Lily slammed a blade they didn't even know she was carrying into the countertop eyeing the man with hate and rage.

"Or you can get in our way and leave here in body bags." She threatened. For a moment, you could have heard a pin drop, unto suddenly a loud slurping noise broke the otherwise epic silence, Ayahna, Lily, and the other 4 men looked back at him with disbelief. Looking between them, he gulped.

"What? These things are really good!" He explained, taking another sip. Obviously having enough, one of the men reached over and slapped the cup onto the floor. A look of utter shock spread across A.I.'s face as he saw his favorite drink spill to the floor. He looked up at the man, then back down at the floor, then up at him once more, before a serious expression took the place of shocked horror.

"Ok, now you're a dead man." He deadpanned, spinning his drumsticks and slamming his butterfly swords straight into the man's abdomen. Chaos ensued, Max picking up the nearest one and tossing him over his shoulder and straight through the wall of the building. Lily kicked one behind the knee, dropping him to one, and then ripped one of the loose shelves off of the shelf frame and smashed him face, tossing the makeshift weapon aside. Ayahna yanked the blade out of the countertop, somersaulting over it and grabbing the clerk by the scruff of his shirt, pinning him against the wall and stabbing the blade a couple of inches away from his head.

"Where is the Syndikate headquarters? Where can we find the Syndikate leader?" She asked. The man chuckled, staring her down.

"You know, I heard he talks about you all the time; Capturing you 4 was his greatest accomplishment." The man spat snidely. Ayahna tightened her grip on his collar, the man's face turning from slightly red to a near tomato color.

"He's still alive? The one who had us captured? The original Syndikate leader?" Ayahna asked in disbelief. The cashier chuckled, nodding as best he could.

"You're… not the only… ones who can cheat… time." He wheezed. Ayahna held him tighter still, yanking out the blade and stabbing it closer to his head, now a mere inch away.

"Where is he hiding? Where is the Syndikate base of Operations? Where do we find him?!" She screamed, the man's face turning purple.

"Long…. Live…. Pi." He heaved, Ayahna looking down in time to see him press a hidden button underneath the countertop. Her head whipped around, looking A.I. dead in the eyes.

"A.I.!" She screamed. He reached up and snapped his fingers, time slowing to a halt all around him. He walked around the counter and looked at what she had seen. He closed his eyes and stretched his mind, looking into the future. He saw the Stygian Iron dust in the ceiling ventilation system puff out all over them, and a squadron of black-clad and armed Syndikate soldiers burst through the back door, tasing them and then taking them away. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his Ipod and earbuds, putting them in and pressing play, Fortunate Son by CCR blasting into his ears. He cracked his neck spinning on his heels.

"Ok, let's do this." He said to himself. He jumped up into the air, grabbing the air vent and yanking out a giant chunk and tossing it behind him. Rather than fall to the ground, the piece froze mid air. A.I. looked around for something about the same size and shape as the hole, smiling when he spotted the cylindrical sweet tea dispenser. He walked over and grabbed it, stuffing it into the hole and plugging it up. Next, he ran over and tipped one of the large shelves over, pinning the back door shut. Finally, he kicked open the front door, time restarting just as he did. The dust never made in out of the vents, and the guards in the back were left slamming repeatedly on the blocked door. Ayahna looked around for A.I. who waved them out the door, the 4 hurrying over to their car and speeding off down the road. For a moment, they thought they would be safe; that is until Ayahna saw 4 all black SUVs and 2 motorcycles tearing off down the road after them. A.I. whipped around then looked over at Ayahna.

"Crap. We've got company." He whined. One SUV pulled up to their left, and another to their right, both drivers eyeing Ayahna. Her grip on the wheel tightened until her knuckles turned white.

"Guys, hold onto something." She commanded. She suddenly slammed on the brakes, right as the 2 cars were about to crush her in between, instead hitting each other and then barrel rolling down a section of highway before exploding into a tiny mushroom cloud. The motorcycles sped up, one trying to cut them off from the left. Max rolled his window down and reached over, grabbing the handle bars of the bike and tossing it behind them. The bike and rider both went flying behind them, exploding off in the distance. Lily threw open the door to the other side with a roar, the door smashing into the second biker's face and knocking him clean off of his bike, tumbling end over end down the road. There were still 2 more SUVs on their tail, and they were gaining ground too quickly for comfort. A.I. sighed, unbuckling his seatbelt. Lily looked at him wide-eyed, as though she could not believe he might be thinking what she thought he was.

"You have a plan?" She asked.

"Yep." He replied.

"Is it stupid?"

"Probably."

"Will it get you killed?"

"Oh, almost certainly. Just keep the car steady. And I'm gonna need these." He finished, reaching into the pouch on the back seat and pulling out some of Lily's in case of emergencies knives.

"Hey! Those are mine!" She demanded. A.I. rolled his eyes, smirking.

"Don't pretend you don't have plenty more. Ok, let's go." He psyched himself out, opening the car door and grabbing the roof rails.

"A.I. get back in here!" Ayahna screamed, but it was too late. A.I. pulled himself onto the roof, hooking his feet underneath the rails to anchor himself into place. The driver of one of the SUVs looked up at him in disbelief, A.I. simply smirking and waving. He looked down at the blades; he only had 2, so he couldn't afford to miss. The original plan was to throw the blades at the tires, and he was about to let loose when suddenly he heard Ayahna.

"DUCK!" She screamed. At first, A.I. had no idea what she was talking about, until he looked forwards and saw a rapidly approaching highway sign poised to take his head off of his shoulders. Time slowed all around him as he leaned backwards, narrowly able to limbo-dodge out of the way. He pulled himself back upright, trying to gauge how to throw the knife into the tire in one shot, before deciding it was too risky. He sighed, unhooking his feet from the railing slowly, spreading his legs to keep himself balanced.

"Ayahna. Keep me steady!" He yelled through her rolled down window.

"Steady for what?" She asked, her eyes growing wide when she realised.

"Steady so I don't miss this jump!" He responded.

"A.I., don't you da-" She didn't even get to finish as A.I. jumped off of their vehicle and slammed onto the roof of the leftmost SUV. He dug the blades into the roof, slamming down and coming to an abrupt halt. He yanked out the blades, grabbing the railing,. In one swift movement, he swung himself around the side of the car and kicked in the widow, glass spraying as he landed neatly in the passenger side seat. The driver was too stunned to even move, blinking twice at a smirking A.I., who looked in the back seat and saw 2 other soldiers staring him down.

"Hi. Do you guys really want to do this now?" A.I. asked. No one moved.

"Right." He sighed. He abruptly slid his seat all the way back, pinning the person behind him. He narrowly caught the other's wrist, barely stopping a knife from plunging into his chest. He snapped the man's wrist, yanking the blade out of his hand and quickly wrapping his seat belt around his neck 3 times, the soldier clawing at it with his one good hand. A.I. looked in the rearview mirror, sliding his head to the left just before a blade plunged through the passenger seat headrest, sticking out right next to him. He let the seat fly forwards before reversing it and smashing the man behind him once more. He slipped into the back seat, both men flailing at him wildly before he stabbed them both in the chest, both collapsing into motionlessness. He them made his way back into the passenger seat, the driver eyeing him with anger and intent to kill.

"Really, dude; you too?" A.I. exasperated before stabbing him in the leg then the neck, slicing through his seatbelt with the other blade and opening the driver side door, kicking the man out of the car. His body rolled down the highway, A.I. taking the wheel.

"So cool! I told Ayahna I knew how to drive!" He gloated. The driver from the other SUV looked over in shock, A.I. smirking deviously and laying on the the horn. He gestured towards the driver, daring him to come and make him pay. The man swerved his car over suddenly, A.I. doing the same, the 2 vehicles locked in a heated battle. A.I. reached up, using his Titan strength to bend the roof railing of his car around the rail of the other and hooking the 2 together with one hand, steering with the other. He grabbed one of the guards swords, pinning it through the steering wheel to keep the car steady, then climbed back onto the roof of the SUV, much to the confusion of the other driver. That is, until A.I. held up a grenade he had pulled off of one of the guards, pulling the pin and tossing it into his car. He mock saluted before jumping off of the roof and back onto the roof of the Requiator's car. He made his way back into the passenger seat, buckling his seatbelt back up. Behind them, the 2 intertwined SUVs kept coming, the driver and other soldiers having bailed out. The 2 cars exploded into a massive fireball, A.I.'s smile brightening. For a moment, no one said anything, until Max coughed in disdain.

"I could have done that, had my massive bulk not made maneuvering difficult." He pouted. Ayahna shook her head at A.I.

"You really are crazy aren't you?" She asked. A.I. scoffed, leaning back and putting up his feet.

"Crazy awesome, maybe." He laughed, putting back in his earbuds and listening to Get Down on It by Kool and the Gang.


	14. Chapter 14

All of the campers gathered together at the top of Camp Half-Blood Hill, to see off Percy and the other 3. As much as Percy hated this entire ordeal, he forced himself to smile and wave at the rest of the campers. As far as they knew, this was a simple recon mission; Percy and the others were just checking to make sure all was going well at Camp Jupiter and with the Hunters of Artemis. After loading all their bags into the back of the Camp van, Percy, Annabeth, Leo, and Tyson climbed in. After Chiron reminded them once again to be very careful, Argus their designated driver took off down the road. He pushed a few buttons on the screen of his GPS, entering in the coordinates for Lincoln, Nebraska. Percy leaned his head against the back of his seat, sighing and closing his eyes. He had not been able to sleep the night before very much at all; it happened every time he was about to go on some life-threatening quest. He had also quickly found out that Annabeth shared this quest-fueled insomnia, but rather than just laying there and staring at the ceiling, she would spend her extra hours reading up on any information about the quest she could get her hands on. In this case, she had been gathering intel on this mysterious demigod assassin.

"Find anything interesting?" Percy asked, leaning his head against the car window. Annabeth looked over, nodding.

"Well, I can see now why we've never heard of this 'mystery mercenary'. All of the historical information of him had been scrubbed clean from the Camp's archives; it's as though he didn't even exist." She explained. Percy looked over at her, casting a sideways smile.

"But of course you found something, right?" He asked. She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Obviously. It took some major digging… good thing we digitized the entire library, otherwise this could have taken years. Anyways, I think I found something." She said, tilting her laptop so Percy could see. Her mouse was poised right above a folder, between 'Y' and 'Z', labeled 'Zero'.

"All of the files are labeled alphabetically. Meaning that this one technically shouldn't even exist. And that's not all. The folder is protected by a security password; whoever put this folder here obviously didn't want people reading it." She explained. Percy was actually getting interested, sliding closer to her, their shoulders touching.

"Can you get in?" He asked. She cracked her fingers, clicking and typing at rapid speeds. For a few moments, the van was silent, save the quiet, rhythmic humming of the engine. After a moment, Annabeth perked up.

"I'm in. Whoa." She ended softly, her eyes growing wider and wider. Inside the file were a bunch of reports, all numbered. Annabeth scrolled through each one, reading as they went along. The Minotaur, the Hydra, Cerebus, Cyclops, and even the Chimera were all listed among many, many other 'victims', and none of them had a very pretty ending. To top it all off, he had been to the Underworld 3 times, and the Labyrinth once by himself.

"This guy is a one man killing machine." Percy whispered under his breath, Annabeth nodding.

"Hard to believe a demigod like this could even exist… it's kind of scary." She admitted. Percy forced a smile, placing his arm over her shoulder.

"Well, we've faced worse together; it's nothing that we can't handle." He promised. Leo suddenly popped up behind them, looking over Annabeth's shoulder at her computer screen.

"Ehh… I don't know, Percy… this guy is up there with the big ones." He admitted, slumping back into his seat and picking up whatever little device he was building and continuing to tinker. Tyson was sitting in the very back of the van, watching as all of the cars whizzed by them, pointing and smiling brightly. Percy sighed, leaning his head against the back of his seat, when he felt a familiar pressure settling on his shoulder.

"Percy, what's wrong? I know that look" Annabeth asked. She always could see right through him.

"I was really hoping to retire from this 'demigod hero' business. I mean, haven't we had enough life-threatening experiences already?" He asked. She simply chuckled, looking up at him.

"We're demigods, Percy; the adventure is never over… no matter how much you want it to be. There will always be more threats, more danger, more missions. It's never going to stop. But how boring would life be if it did?" She asked. For a moment, no one said anything, until Percy cleared his throat.

"Did those files say anything about parentage? I'm thinking Son of Ares?" He asked, Annabeth leaning her head back up and opening her laptop.

"No… it says 'Parentage Unspecified… weird. Maybe his parent never claimed him?" She suggested, but something told Percy it was far worse than that. He turned around, looking Leo dead in the eyes.

"Please tell me you're busy coming up with some kind of new, mythical weapons?" Percy asked, Leo smirking and tightening a bolt.

"Does Leo Valdez ever disappoint?" He asked, holding up an orb about the size of a baseball.

"This is my 'surprise-in-a-ball'. This sucker is like the world's biggest flashbang… you'll want to avert your eyes and cover your ears when this thing goes off." Leo explained. Percy smiled back at him, clearly impressed.

"Nice work, Leo. Something tells me we're going to need all the fire power we can get." Percy explained. Leo lit his hand up in flames, smiling even brighter.

"I got all the fire power you need right here." He commented before extinguishing his hands.

"Something tells me you're right, Seaweed Brain… look" Annabeth said, a look of shock and almost fear spreading across her face as Percy looked at her screen. It was on Fox News, and it was the title in big, bold type that caught their attention and made Percy's stomach drop. ' 10 Killed in Deadly Car Chase.' Annabeth clicked on the video, and they were all horrified to see the scene. The reporter was standing in front of 2 SUVs that looked charred and crashed, multiple police cars all blocking off traffic.

"Good Afternoon, I'm Samantha Watson live on the scene. A dangerous car chase took place right here hours ago, where these SUVs were trying to track down an unknown vehicle. As of now, 10 are pronounced dead at the scene. The paramedics and law enforcement refuse to comment on the cause of death; but eye witnesses claim that one of the culprits jumped from car to car, killing those inside with a large knife." The scene switched to a young man; apparently an eye witness.

"I saw this young kid get up onto the top of the car, and I was like 'Whoa, dude! Are they shooting a movie or something?' The kid, like, jumped from his car onto the top of the other, and that's when things got crazy. I couldn't really see much of what was going on because I had to watch where I was going, but inside that car looked like a war zone. It was scary; the kid was like a machine, man! Then, I see him kick this dude's body out of the car, then he's climbing back onto the roof, and suddenly BOOM! Both SUVs are going up in smoke. I didn't catch the license plate of their ride, but it was some weird, almost monster truck looking thing… I don't remember." The man finished, the camera panning back to the reporter.

"The young man and his friends are still at large, but police say that is won't be long until they are found and charged. One eye witness pulled over and recorded a portion of this confrontation. The footage has been searched for identification of the young man or their vehicle, and so far nothing has come up. Here is the footage captured. I will warn you, it is graphic." Samantha warned. The screen switched again, this time to a shaky cell phone recording of the event. The lady managed to steady her phone just as a jacked up looking tank car came rolling down the street, followed by a black SUV. It zoomed by too fast to see anything, until the footage was slowed down to a near stop, where they saw inside the SUV, in the back seat, there was clearly a fight going on, a shorter boy beating the tar out of 2 grown men, before the car left the camera's sight. The lady turned her phone, and again the footage was slowed down enough to see a blurry figure standing on the roof of the car, throwing something inside and jumping onto the vehicle in front of him before the SUVs both exploded, the lady screaming and turning to run, the footage cutting off.

As you can see, these men are to be considered extremely dangerous. Any tips should be sent to the local authorities. For Fox News, I'm Samantha Watson." The clip ended, all 3 demigods looking more worried than before.

"You think-" Leo started, Annabeth cutting him off.

"It's them. It had to be. The only question is who would be chasing them?" She asked. Percy shook his head, still not believing what he had seen. Percy had done some crazy things in his life, but jumping off of the roof of a moving car on the highway, and then slaughtering everyone inside another vehicle? That wasn't just crazy; that was borderline evil. Then again, perhaps the people inside were actually monsters; the mist has a crazy way of covering things up.

"Percy? Hello, Seaweed Brain… you in there?" Annabeth was waving her hand in front of his face, Percy looking at her confusedly. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I said, I think we should exercise more caution that originally planned. These guys seem to mean business, and have obviously made some pretty powerful enemies along the way." She re-explained. Leo sat up, his eyes wide.

"Hey, maybe those guys could help us?" Leo asked. Annabeth shook her head.

"Local authorities- if that's who they were- wouldn't let us take them back to Camp. And our quest is to bring them back so Zeus can question them; not get them arrested." She explained, Leo crossing his arms.

"Perfect. So we're going in alone against that;" He gestured to the computer screen. "Alone." Percy tried to lighten the mood, acting calm.

"Nothing we haven't seen before." Percy insisted, but watching the video again, he had to admit; that was indeed something he had never seen before. As they drove closer and closer to these deadly killers, Percy couldn't help but wonder if they really wanted to get any closer than they already were.


	15. Chapter 15

After driving for another hour, A.I. couldn't hold it back any longer.

"I'm hungry! Can we stop to get some food? Please?" He begged. Ayahna threw a pointed glance at him.

"Didn't you get something to eat from that gas station?" She asked. A.I. sighed, slumping back in his seat even further than usual.

"Yeah, but snacks won't do. My tummy demands real food… Like burgers or tacos or something!" He explained, patting his stomach for extra emphasis. Ayahna sighed, putting on the blinker and maneuvering into the turn lane.

"Fine. Well stop for something to eat." She exasperated.

"Yay! Food!" A.I. cheered. Max stuck his head in between the passenger and driver seats, looking between Ayahna and A.I. skeptically.

"This time, I wish to actually enjoy my meat patty; not have it slapped to the floor." He stated firmly, eyeing Lily suspiciously. Lily rolled her eyes, an annoyed look plastered on her face.

"Look, Max it was either the burger or your head. That one was laced with magic; who knows what it could have done to you." She explained angrily. Max crossed his arms defiantly, casting his gaze to the ceiling, refusing to make eye contact with Lily.

"It would have quenched my hunger and filled my stomach, that's what." He insisted. She groaned, even more angry then before.

"Fine! Next time I'll just let you eat the poison burger!" She yelled. By that time, they had pulled into the parking lot of a McDonald's, getting out of the car.

"Food! Food! Food!" A.I. chanted as the group made their way into the building. As they walked by, Ayahna reached out and touched the self-ordering menu, closing her eyes for a brief moment before opening them again.

"I'll order; you guys go and get us a table." She commanded, the others walking over. A.I. scratched his chin as he looked around, before grabbing a booth next to the windows. It wasn't long before Ayahna walked over with a tray of food, setting it in the middle of the table. They all dug in, Max grabbing two quarter pounders, eyeing Lily distrustfully as she sighed and grabbed one of her own. Max opened the box, gently pulling out the burger, practically drooling on the table.

"Meat patty… we meet again. This time, you will not so easily avoid my taste." He whispered, taking a bite out of the burger.

"This… This is delicious!" He cried, scarfing it down faster than should be humanly possible. A.I. was also eating exceptionally fast, stuffing fries and his burger in his mouth all at once, washing it down with a Coke before breaking the silence.

"So, Brains." He smirked and gestured to Ayahna, who cocked an eyebrow at the nickname.

"Any idea exactly who it is we are supposed to be finding? This Olympian who can supposedly answer all of our questions?" He asked. Ayahna swallowed, her brow scrunching as she thought.

"There are many Olympians that it could be… It could be the Fates, or Apollo… or even mother. But no, I have no idea who… or what… awaits us." She admitted, A.I. smirking.

"Good. What fun would our little scavenger hunt be if we knew the surprise that awaited us at the end? Part of the thrill is the hunt!" He raved excitedly, taking another bite of his burger happily.

"Whatever it is, it had better be a challenge this time. If this is the best the Syndikate has to offer, they have let me down." Lily stated annoyedly, sniffing another burger before taking a bite. A.I. slowed his chewing to a near halt, as though a thought just dawned on him.

"How did the Syndikate and up getting you anyways?" He asked, looking around the table at everyone.

"A member of the Syndikate killed the one I loved. I found them." Ayahna said firmly. Max's chest puffed out pridefully.

"The Syndikate told me that they wanted to sponsor my gladiator match, and make me their champion. I suppose that must have been a lie, because they threw me in their dungeons." He ended on a sour note, as though he was just now realizing they were lying to him. A.I. glanced over at Lily, who was leaned back and picking her teeth with her plastic fork.

"Eh. I ran into some of their "stealth fighters" hiding out in the treetops. They were attacking this village, and forcing them to pay fees for their 'protection'. The people were already poor, and could barely afford to survive, much less pay this outrageous fee. So, I did what anybody would have done; I killed the lot of them. After that, I guess I was on their 'most wanted' list, because they ended up tracking me down and getting me with a cheap blow-dart shot." She finished grumpily. A.I. smirked, reaching into his pocket and putting one earbud into his ear.

"Yeah, I was hired to find some kid. He was in with the wrong crowd… the Syndikate kind… and his big sister wanted me to find him and bring him back. Turns out the whole thing was a total sham, and next thing I know I'm in the slammer, getting this snake's fang stuck into my arm. Yeah… not my best day ever. But certainly not the worst." He finished. Suddenly, they all felt the table start to shake a little bit. At first, it was barely noticeable, but soon it became near overpowering.

"Earthquake!" A random customer shouted, causing everyone to duck for cover. Ayahna looked between each of the other 3.

"That's no earthquake. Something's coming." She informed, A.I.'s drumsticks already becoming his butterfly swords, Max following suit. Lily pulled out 2 knives, handing a dagger to Ayahna.

"We really need to find a way to keep our weapons on us." Lily complained, Ayahna nodding in agreement. The rumbling continued, getting louder and louder, until it suddenly stopped. After a moment, A.I. looked around, scoffing.

"Well, that was disappointing. I was hoping for some kind of giant… mutant… goat-man monster thingy with 4 heads and 6 arms of something like that." He admitted. Suddenly, the ground beneath them exploded. Tables, chairs, debris, and Happy Meals went flying everywhere as 2 creatures jumped out of the freshly created hole. They both had faces that looked human, but their bodies were those of a lion's. Their tails were long and thick; the end curving into a sharp crescent shape, much like that of a scorpion. One of the creatures had 2 different colored eyes, and the other a large scar that stretched across the majority of its face. A.I. smiled at the one coyly.

"Hey… I remember this guy! Remember me? I'm the guy who sliced your face open and gave you that wicked looking scar!" He said excitedly. The creature reached up its paw, caressing the scar gently and eyeing A.I., the bloodlust evident in its eyes

"Aw! You do remember!" A.I. cried. The beast wasted no more time, charging at A.I. with a head full of steam. He narrowly stepped out of the way of the charging creature, which ran right into Max's waiting arm, clotheslining the beast. The manticore looked like it had been hit by a semi, dropping to the ground with a resounding slam. Max brushed off his upper arm, clearly unfazed by the massive blow he had just dealt. His mace extended into his hand as he shot an angry glance at the other, the monster licking its lips apprehensively. A.I. turned around slowly, seeing all of the people staring at them with fear and awe. Though A.I. wasn't exactly sure what the humans saw, it clearly wasn't good. He raised his eyebrows at them, a look of disbelief spreading slowly across his face as his eyes darted from one person to another.

"What are you waiting for, an invitation? RUN!" He screamed, causing mass panic as everyone bolted to the nearest exit. It wasn't long before the entire restaurant was completely empty, leaving only the Requiators and the Monsters.

"So, the Syndikate sends Manticores. Manticore? Manticores? It it Manticores or Manticore?" A.I. asked, sounding genuinely confused. He was quickly brought back to reality when a spike shot from one of their tails impaled itself into the floor right between his legs, narrowly missing him. That shot everyone into action, Ayahna slicing at the nearest one, Lily following. Together, they drove the creature back using precise strikes which the Manticore was barely able to avoid. Soon, they had it pinned into the corner, but the creature would not be that easily defeated. It swung its massive tail at them, the 2 expertly dodging out of the way just before it smashed into them. Ayahna dodged and then barrel rolled in close, stabbing her blade into its foot then immediately slashing it in the knee, and then behind the knee cap. The manticore dropped down and grabbed its knee, crying out in pain. Lily followed behind, picking up one of the tables with her titan strength, and tossed it into the monster's face with a primal roar. The table smashed into pieces on the manticore's head, the beast lashing out with its tail. Lily was able to get out of the way just in time, the tail plunging deep into the floor. The creature yanked on its tail, but the stinger seemed to be stuck in the ground. Lily whipped around, slicing the entire thing off in one clear motion, pivoting on the ball of her heel and tossing the blade with all her might, the knife sticking into the creature's forehead. She jumped up into the air and roundhouse kicked the blade right on the end of the handle, sending it as deep into the manticore's forehead as possible. The monster's eyes rolled into the back of its head as it slowly turned into golden dust. While Ayahna and Lily had been handling the one manticore, A.I. and Max had been dealing with the other. The manticore shot a barrage of needle-like spikes at them.

"Back Handspring!" A.I. announced as he flipped backwards out of the way, the spines skewering into the ground where he was just standing. The creature swung its massive paw at Max, who caught it mid-air without moving an inch. He slowly bent the creature's arm to the side, its eyes growing wide as it watched Max move it out of his way, a scowl plastered on Max's face.

"Ha! You are much weaker than I anticipated." Max taunted. As though to prove his point, he squeezed his hand slightly, the manticore's paw cracking and popping in response. Max pivoted his foot, and tossed the creature over his shoulder and into the ground with an earth-shaking thud. It took more than a few moments for the creature to get back up, a trickle of ichor on the corner of its mouth. A.I. pointed at it.

"Uh, bud; you've got a little… a little something…" He said, the creature reaching up and touching its face.

"No, a little lower… to the right… sorry, your left, my right." A.I. instructing, the monster feeling around its face until it finally touched the ichor.

"There. Now you've got it." A.I. smirked, giving a thumbs up. The beast seemed to just remember it was in the middle of a battle, roaring and charging them once again. A.I. held up his right hand and snapped, but nothing happened.

"Crap. Magic barrier." He grumbled. He held up his right hand once again, this time closing his eyes and focusing.

"Kronos ypakoúei kai stamatá!" He cried. A wave of energy could be seen leaving his hand, the creature slowing to a stop. A.I.'s eyes glowed a completely golden color as he turned his hand clockwise slowly, the creature screaming in pain as it withered away; first its muscle shrunk into nothing, then its fur shriveled up and fell off. Finally, it became nothing but bones, even the bones turning to dust. When A.I. lowered his hand, the energy instantly vanished, the normal golden color returning to his eyes. He looked at each of the other Reqs, all of them staring in shock at what they had just witnessed.

"Um… ta-da?" A.I. tried. Max began slowly clapping, a look of semi-horror still frozen on his face. Ayahna shook her head clear, moving quickly towards the exit.

"Come on, let's move. We don't want to be around when the authorities show up." She commanded. Lily looked around at the desolation they had caused. The front of the store looked near untouched, but the back looked like what would happen if you released an angry flaming bull inside of a china shop.

"Yeah…. We're not paying for that." She stated firmly, quickening her pace to catch up. A.I. was walking out with them, when he turned around and looked over the counter. There was a large family box and 6 drinks sitting there. The girl behind the counter stood frozen in place, apparently having watched the whole ordeal… or whatever it is that the mist made them see.

"Hey, um…. Is anyone going to eat that?" A.I. asked. The girl slowly shook her head.

"Can… can I take it?" He questioned. The girl held the box and drinks out to him, A.I. pumping his fist in the air.

"Thanks! This is awesome!" He cried, making his way to the exit.

"Have a nice day." The girl mumbled. A.I. threw a backwards waver her way, already opening the box.

"You as well. Chiao!" He hopped into the car and pulled out his ipod, plugging it in to charge and pressing play, "Walk This Way" by Aerosmith pulsing out of the speakers. Ayahna was already complaining about not getting crumbs everywhere as she pulled away from the smoking building and out of the parking lot, the team inching ever closer to their goal.

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The mysterious leader of the Syndikate was watching the footage of the Requiator's most recent fight on his large monitors. This time, they had gotten into a scuffle with 2 large manticore, and again come out on top. He observed their technique, their coordination, their precision. They were getting better, more unanimous in their movement, more fluid in their execution. And they were growing as a team much faster the the leader had originally anticipated. He picked up the phone next to him, pressing in a phone number and waiting. After one ring, a voice came over the receiver.

"Yes sir?" One of his foot soldiers asked.

"What is Req 5's progress?" He demanded. He could hear the man audibly gulp.

"Req 5 should intercept the Requiators in the next town; Omaha, Nebraska." The man explained. The leader sighed deeply and annoyedly.

"The Requiators have been progressing much quicker than anticipated. Req 5 had better confront them in Omaha or it's your head." The leader growled before slamming the phone back down and leaning back, once again looking over footage from the McDonald's incident.

"This all ends soon. Requiators." He whispered to himself, moving yet another chess piece on the board next to him.


	16. Chapter 16

Percy awoke from a nightmare he could not remember, the sun shining in his eyes a little too brightly for his taste. He sat up, rubbing his eyes and stretching.

"Well, look who's finally awake." Annabeth teased. Percy looked out the window at the scenery passing by, then back at Annabeth.

"Where are we?" He asked. Leo leaned over the seat, smiling brightly.

"We are nearing Omaha, Nebraska. Should be there in about 2 hours." He explained. Percy looked at Annabeth with disbelief.

"How did we get to Nebraska so quickly? That's hundreds of miles away." Percy asked.

"Trust me, Seaweed Brain; it's better if I just don't tell you." She promised before going back to her laptop. Her face hardened as she clicked on something, then turned the laptop to Percy so that he could see. It was playing yet another news clip, this one being titled 'Freak Bear Attack Stopped By Unknown Bystanders.' A girl about their age wearing a McDonald's uniform was speaking to the reporter, clearly shaken.

"It was crazy; these 2 giant bears just burst through the back wall, and some of the customers held them off so the others could escape. I was so scared… I couldn't even move. I just stood there and watched as they fought these 2 giant animals… it was extremely scary." She admitted. The camera panned back to the reporter.

"We have been able to get ahold of the footage from this massive bear fight, and it indeed tells a tale of the bravery of a few bystanders." She said, the video of the night before playing. Percy and Annabeth both saw right through the Mist.

"Those weren't bears… they were Manticore." Leo gulped. The camera must have been older, because the footage was a bit fuzzy, but they could clearly make out 2 boys and 2 girls, all fighting these giant Manticore. One of them seemed to even be taunting the creature. The tall boy clotheslined one, and it actually hit the floor. He had to have some form of superhuman strength, Percy could tell. He watched as the 4 butchered the Manticore with seeming ease, but the one thing that really made his stomach turn inside out was when the one raised his hand and disintegrated the Manticore to dust.

"What the heck was that? He just raised his hand and the thing turned to dust." Percy looked to Annabeth for answers, but she seemed every bit as puzzled as he was.

"I… I really don't know. Maybe he's a son of Hades?" She supplied. Leo reached over and replayed the video, pausing at the point where the kid turned the Manticore to a pile of dirt.

"Yeah. A really REALLY powerful son of Hades. Call Nico, maybe he could tell you if Hades' kids can pull of something like that." Leo suggested. Tyson leaned over the seat, watching the footage with them. He pointed to the tall boy, a frown on his face.

"He's strong." He commented. Percy forced a smile, patting Tyson on the shoulder.

"Not stronger than you, big guy." Percy insured. That seemed to do the trick, Tyson returning to looking out the window at everything that passed by. Leo leaned in close, looking worried.

"You think T has a chance against muscles?" Leo gestured to the footage. Percy shrugged, looking over the seat to make sure Tyson wasn't paying attention before answering.

"I don't know, Leo; I really don't know. Hopefully we won't have to find out." He said hopefully.

"They don't exactly strike me as the kind that would listen to reason." Leo stated. Deep down, Percy had a sinking feeling Leo was right, but he still didn't want to accept it. There had to be a way to resolve this peacefully… right? His face must have betrayed his thoughts; Annabeth looked over and sighed, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly.

"Remember what Chiron said, Percy; they are all trained killers. This is what they have done their whole lives, and is all they know. They won't go down without a fight." She explained. Percy nodded, knowing that she was right. The only way they were bringing these demigods back to Camp was brute force. Looking at the video one more time, Percy couldn't help but wonder if they had the brute force needed.

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After driving for another hour, the Requiators were getting quite tired, and decided to pull into the nearest hotel to check in for the night. They got 2 connected rooms, and had all been asleep for about 3 hours. After years of being on the run and hunted down by every kind of monster and creature, Lily had gotten almost too good at being alert even in her sleep, which is why she perked up when she heard something moving around. She sat up, listening closer. For a moment, she thought it was a figment of her imagination, until she heard it; the barely audible sound of a glass sliding door closing. She slowly got out of bed and crept her way over to the sliding glass door in her and Ayahna's room that led out to a tiny porch-like area. She slipped outside, goosebumps forming up her arms when she was hit by the cold night air. A.I. was leaning up against the railing, looking out over the highway. He didn't have his normal, cocky smirk plastered on his face; this time he looked serious and almost scared as he stared off into space. For a moment, Lily didn't really know what to do; she was half-tempted to try and sneak her way back inside before A.I. noticed her standing there.

"You know, my mother taught me it was rude to stare." A.I. said, his gaze still glued on the night sky, but a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. Lily brushed some stray strands of hair behind her ear, rolling her eyes.

"My mother taught me that the only people who survive are the strong who take what they want, and bend the world to their will." She countered. A.I. actually smiled, turning to face her.

"Point taken. I don't suppose you'd care to join me?" He invited. Lily shrugged and walked over, her bare feet rapping against the smooth wooden floor. They both leaned there, looking up at the stars together.

"It makes me feel good. Looking at the stars," A.I. explained. "After all this time, and all the crazy things that have changed, the stars stay the same. Reminds me that not everything is temporary; some things live on forever." He near-whispered. Ever since their last talk, something had been on Lily's mind, and she figured now was as good a time as any to ask.

"What happened to you, A.I.? I mean, really. Not the generic, vague crap you try and pull on everyone else. I want to know the truth." She prodded. For a moment, she almost felt bad asking when she saw A.I.'s face contort into an uncomfortable frown. Silence rang all around as she waited for his response.

"You really want to know?" He asked painfully. Lily had never seen him like this; it was almost as though he was a completely different and totally rational person.

"Yeah, I do." She stated firmly. He closed his eyes, as though preparing himself.

"I… When… The truth is…" He stuttered, before taking a deep breath and starting over.

"I don't remember much before the Pit. Bits and pieces here and there, but nothing I can pin down; more like feelings than thoughts. I was hired to do… something, I can't even remember. I was about 14 years old when I found the entrance to the Pit… that's when I fell in." He finally spit it out. Lily cocked her head to the side like a confused puppy.

"The Pit? You mean Tartarus?" She asked, causing A.I. to wince.

"... yeah, there." He confirmed, looking down and refusing to make eye contact. Lily couldn't believe she was feeling sorry for someone.

"What happened to you down there?" She probed, obviously hitting a sore spot as A.I. drew in another deep breath.

"Do you know what it feels like to die?" He asked, seemingly out of the blue.

"I've never done it before, so no." She scoffed only half-heartedly, thinking he was joking. She realized very quickly that he wasn't, instantly sobering.

"I do. I died more times than I can count. Sometimes from starvation, sometimes from dehydration, and sometimes I would get dismembered by a random monster. But my powers they… they reset me every time, back to the starving and dehydrating and searching for the mythical secret exit for weeks and months and years. The mind can only take so much before it snaps." He explained. A single tear rolled down his cheek, splashing onto the banister. Lily's eyes grew wide as she realized he was really crying; Tartarus made him lose his mind. He stood up straight, wiping his eyes with his palms and taking in a deep breath, smirking once again.

"Sorry about that, Lil; things kinda got real there for a second." He chuckled. Never the best with words or when to say them, Lily looked him right in the eyes.

"Wait, so you died and were revived over and over again until your mind broke?" She asked.

"... that's the short version, yeah. Now, I can't remember my past, am easily side tracked, and feel very few emotions aside from constant euphoria, except on rare occasions." He smiled as though all of this were good news, unintentionally proving his point.

"How long were you down there?" She asked. He shrugged, still smiling. Apparently his moment of sanity was over.

"About 5 or 6 years… it's hard to tell, really." He answered. That really took Lily by surprise; she had heard of how horrifying Tartarus was. And to be down there for 5 years, all alone… that was crazy. For a moment they just stood there, looking up at the stars, before Lily spoke again.

"Do you remember anything? I mean, before the Pit?" She asked. His expression sobered once more, his brow scrunching as he thought.

"Not much; A few choice memories here and there, most of them are from my early childhood. It's kind of hard to explain, but trust me, nothing worth remembering." He replied. Lily raised an eyebrow at him, holding out her hand.

"If you can't explain it, why don't you show me." She challenged. A.I. looked shocked as he turned to face her.

"You sure about this? I mean, a trip inside my head is not a very good idea." He warned. She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You can't scare me, Amadeus. Show me. Unless you're afraid." She added cockily, making him smile.

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." He said, before closing his eyes and focusing. After a moment, he reached out and took her hand. A familiar feeling washed over Lily; she felt like her mind was being sucked out of her body. She found herself standing next to A.I. It was vastly different from when they had done this before; instead of being in a solid, pure memory, they were floating in a black void, bits and pieces of memories, feelings, and emotions flying by. Some would pause and play out for a moment, only to disappear a moment later. But the thing that caught Lily's eye was the humongous, red blotch in the center of the storm. She started walking towards it, but A.I. grabbed her wrist. She could see the distress on his face.

"That's…. That's from the Pit. Trust me, you don't want to see that one." He warned. She could see a tiny glimpse of what was inside; A very thin and sickly looking A.I. wandering through what looked like the physical incarnation of hatred and evil; a barren desert. She saw him collapse to the dirt, only to suck in a deep breath and somehow stand back up, pressing onwards. Suddenly, she was sucked out of his memories, and back into her body. She quickly let go of his hand, looking him right in the eyes.

"Is that… is that what goes on in your head all the time?" She asked. It was clear from the tone in her voice that she was quite shaken by the experience. A.I. was still smiling as he scratched the back of his head.

"Yep. Pretty much. As crazy as you expected?" He asked. She shook her head, refusing to be distracted.

"How do you even function?" She demanded, completely baffled.

"Have you ever met me? I don't really 'function' all too well… I kinda just take life as it comes to me." He answered, looking up at the stars and smiling. The two of them just stood there, staring at the stars and enjoying each others silent company. Before she had met the other 3, Lily never really thought about having a family again, but now she felt as though she had finally found a place where she fit in. And she had to admit, it did feel really nice. The only thing she wondered was where they would be going from here.

"You're a whole lot tougher than you look, A.I." Lily said, a genuine smile on her face for the first time in forever. A.I. smiled right back, this time a genuine, heartfelt smile.

"You're not too shabby yourself, Lil."


	17. Chapter 17

The Requiators checked out of their hotel room the next morning, and continued on their journey to find the Olympian who could tell them where the Syndikate were hiding. A.I. was sitting shotgun, using one of his drumsticks as an impromptu microphone as he sang along to "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson, much to the annoyance of everyone else in the car. Suddenly, he pulled out his earbuds and smiled, pointing out the window.

"Guys, check it out!" He exclaimed. The sign said "Omaha, 10 miles". A.I. looked over at Ayahna curiously.

"How long until we get there?" He asked. Ayahna didn't even blink.

"Assuming that we continue traveling at 55 miles per hour, we should get there in about 11 minutes." She answered, A.I. kicking back and smirking before leaning forwards once again.

"Hang on; I just realized we don't even know where to look for this Olympian… cook up any genius ideas yet, Brains?" A.I. questioned hopefully. Ayahna shrugged, keeping her eyes on the road.

"I figure that we'll know what we are looking for when we see it." She replied. A.I. nodded, putting back in his earbuds and pressing shuffle, landing on "You Make My Dreams Come True" by Hall and Oates. They drove in relative silence for the next 10 minutes, before Ayahna finally pulled the car over and into a parking spot. They all stepped out of the car, staring in awe at the giant city in front of them.

"Okay. Whoa." was all Lily could manage.

"This is most impressive. How many war slaves do you suppose it took to construct such a monstrosity?" Max asked in bewilderment.

"I don't think 21st century folks take war slaves anymore, Max. I'm pretty sure they won't even accept war bonds to be honest." A.I. said, still transfixed on the city. Ayahna seemed just as shocked as the rest of them, but she quickly shook it off.

"Come on, guys; we have a job to do, remember?" She commanded. They followed her as she lead them through the streets, looking all around. There were all kinds of tall buildings, loud cars, and other obnoxious noises all around. After walking around for nearly 2 hours, the team was beginning to lose hope.

"Maybe the tip was bogus?" A.I. suggested, pulling out one of his earphones. Lily smacked her fist into her other hand, cracking her knuckles.

"Or maybe this whole thing was a trap. Maybe the Syndikate is waiting to ambush us." She growled. Max laughed, his hands on his hips in a heroic stance.

"Well, they can most certainly try to ambush me. They had better bring more of their minions than were in our prison cell." He cried triumphantly. They walked for another half an hour before they all took a seat on a nearby park bench, catching their breath. A.I. sighed, leaning back on the bench and twirling his drumsticks in a slow, bored rhythm. His gaze was drawn to the electrical pole right in front of them, which was graffitied with all different sorts of lost posters and advertisements. He glanced over them, suddenly shooting up in his seat and tearing one off of the pole. It was an advertisement for "Lady E's Fortune Fountain" in Lake Manawa State Park. He sat back, showing the poster to the rest of the group. It had a picture of an old woman wearing classical fortune teller attire, gazing mysteriously into a tiny water fountain. A.I. pointed to the bottom of the picture, at a group of symbols that were barely recognizable.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this Latin?" He asked, Ayahna nodding excitedly.

"Yeah, it is! A fortune teller with an interest in Latin in the same city as our mystery Olympian? That can't be a coincidence." She insisted, scanning the poster for a definitive address. 1103 Navajo Street SE. Ayahna stood quickly, a steely look of determination on her face.

"Let's go then. This has to be the Olympian that we are looking for, and even if she isn't, maybe she'll know where we can find them." She commanded, the others standing up as well. A.I. spun his drumsticks before sliding them into his pocket, a sly smirk on his face.

"Alright, then. Let's go get some answers shall we?" He suggested. They made their way back to their car, hopping in and putting the address into the GPS. Ayahna pulled out of their parking spot, and began following the GPS's instructions, when a large, black van pulled out in the middle of the road right in front of them. On the side, the red 'pi' symbol shone in the midday light.

"Syndikate." Ayahna griped, reaching back. Lily handed Ayahna her sword, then picked up her own. Max's mace was already almost completely formed, and A.I. was sliding his blades against one another rhythmically.

"Time to go to work." He chuckled, the four getting out of their car. 2 Syndikate members got out of their own vehicle. Even Lily almost smirked at the pathetic scene.

"2 minions against the 4 of us? I would laugh if I were not so insulted." Max spat, swinging his mace around for extra effect. The 2 men went to the back of the van, opening it and stepping aside. A.I. almost fell over when he saw who it was.

"You!" He growled angrily, his usually chipper smirk replaced with a deadly scowl.

"Hello, Amadeus. Been a while." The girl laughed. She was a little bit taller than A.I., with the same Greek-era complexion and raven black hair.

"Wait you know her?" Ayahna asked, genuinely surprised. A.I. grunted, still shocked himself.

"That's Astraea. She's the chick that set me up to get captured way back when. But how are you not a shriveled up raisin?" A.I. questioned.

"After we captured you, the Grandmaster offered for me to take part in a little… experiment. Told me that I would live long enough to defeat you myself in combat." She explained, pulling out her sword as she did, making her way towards them. A.I. scoffed at her with a smirk.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but it's 4 on 3 here. I'm pretty sure that any one of us could easily take you down alone;" He explained. "Here, let me break this down for you;" He offered. He gestured at her with his butterfly swords.

"Human mortal." He said slowly, like he was explaining it to a 2 year old. He then gestured to himself and the other Reqs.

"Demigods and or Demititans." He finished, flipping his swords and sliding his drumsticks into his pocket. She was still advancing towards them, a stoned cold look on her face. A.I. sighed, motioning for the rest of them to stay back.

"This shouldn't take long." He assured, rolling his eyes and walking towards her. She too slid her sword back into its sheath, still walking towards him, until they were a foot apart.

"You really don't wanna do this, Astraea." He smiled at her, cracking his knuckles. She smiled right back, still unfazed.

"So much bravado, Amadeus. I always did hate that about demis." Her smile disappeared. A.I. shook his head slowly.

"Fine, but just remember; I tried to be generous." He shrugged. Suddenly, he swung a titan-strength fueled right hook aimed straight for her jaw. He was shocked beyond belief when she reached out her left hand and stopped his fist dead in its tracks. He looked up at her with wonder, the ever prevalent smirk seemingly wiped off of his face. Astraea smiled as she twisted her wrist, his hand popping and cracking as she did. Pain shot through A.I.'s hand as she continued bending his arm.

"Surprised?" She asked smugly. She didn't even give him time to answer before plowing a right hand into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. She let his hand go, and he stood up hastily, clutching his now dislocated wrist. He bit his tongue as he popped it back into place, rolling it around to get the feeling back.

"What… what are you?" He asked, surprise and a tinge of fear in his voice.

"Are you a demigod?" He questioned. Astraea laughed out loud, shaking her head.

"Of course not. I despise demigods. No, I am just what you said; a human mortal. But I guess you can see now that I'm not a normal human mortal. The Grandmaster has helped me evolve beyond the normal mortal flesh, into what the human race was always meant to be. I am not like you Amadeus; I am far better." She growled, charging him. He closed his eyes, dodging every one of her attacks before delivering a counter strike to the stomach. Astraea doubled over, clearly affected by the blow, but continued her onslaught. She jabbed at his face, but he was too quick, dodging each one as though he saw it coming. She fake jabbed then spin kicked, catching his in the jaw and sending him flying backwards into a car, smashing the side in and completely totaling it. By then, people were running and screaming, the area completely devoid of any normal mortals. A.I. pulled himself out from the giant dent, looking more shocked than before.

"How… How did you do that?" He gasped, still shaking off the impact.

"Like I said; I am far better than you could ever be." She spat, pulling her sword out of its sheath and charging him. He whipped out his drumsticks, barely transforming the in time to parry Astraea's overhead swing. The force behind the blow was massive, sending a loud, resounding clank ringing all around. Astraea swung her sword at him over and over again; fighting like a well calculated killing machine. Each strike was precise and accurately aimed at critical points on A.I.'s body; points that, if hit, would most certainly kill him. He blocked each and every blow, having the advantage of 2, quicker blades. They were evenly matched, trading blow for parry until A.I. saw an opportunity. He faked a parry, then pivoted on the ball of his heel, ducking around her and slicing her in the arm. For a moment, they were at a stand still. A.I. didn't waste the opportunity, yelling over to the rest of the Reqs.

"Hey, uh… remember when I said that I could handle this and that it 'wouldn't take long'... Yeah, I didn't really mean that. Feel free to jump in and help! Now would be nice!" He cried. Astraea grabbed her upper arm, feeling a steady trickle of blood running down her arm. By this time, the other 3 had joined A.I., standing next to him.

"Butt whooped by a mere mortal. Ouch." Lily snicked, A.I. spreading his hands defensively.

"Did you see this chick? In case you missed it she totaled a car with my body. I'm pretty sure mere mortals can't do that!" A.I. tried to explain. Max shook his head, clearly disappointed.

"Mere or not, you should never allow a lowly mortal to best you in combat; it is quite embarrassing and even more undignified." Max explained. A.I. shot him a death glare.

"You too, Max? You too?" He cried. Max completely ignored the glare and shrugged, clearly meaning what he said.

"Hey! Focus!" Ayahna commanded, the other 3 instantly sobering. A.I.'s brow furrowed in confusion, pointing at Astraea's arm.

"Uh… isn't human blood supposed to be red? Heck, isn't Demi-blood red?" A.I. asked. The liquid flowing from Astraea's wound was a bright pink.

"Good, you're all here; time for the main event." She smirked deviously. The pressed a button on her belt buckle, the buckle itself opening to reveal a hidden compartment, holding a tiny vial of bright pink liquid. The vial itself was no larger than a triple A battery, but was glowing ominously. She reached over and placed it in what looked to be a tiny timer attached to her belt, with a tiny tube leading into her side.

"What the heck is that?" A.I. asked, looking over at Ayahna.

"I believe it is called an 'insulin pump.' It is used to provide insulin for diabetics." She explained. Astraea snicked, obviously knowing something that they did not.

"Very clever, Ayahna. But this pump does not carry insulin." She explained, opening the front of the pump and placing the battery sized vial inside, pressing a button. They all watched as the pink liquid was quickly pumped through the tube and into her bloodstream. She screamed out in pain as her veins all began glowing the same pink color before subsiding. She glanced down at them, smiling. Her eyes had changed from an electric blue to the same bright pink color as the substance she had injected.

"Let's finish this quickly, Requiators." She said. She suddenly burst forwards in a superhuman gush of speed, appearing right in front of Lily, who recovered remarkably fast, swinging at her. Astraea sidestepped out of the way, the blade completely missing her before kicking the shorter Lily in the chest and sending her flying down the street, smashing into the road and creating a small crater. Ayahna charged her from behind, Astraea whipping around and blocking her strike. The two were locked in a heated duel, trading blow after blow. From a distance, it looked as though they were evenly matched, but a closer examination revealed that Ayahna was getting extremely winded while Astraea seemed unfazed. Sweat dripped from Ayahna's brow as she blocked, parried and counterstriked over and over, without luck. Finally, Astraea saw her opening, kicking Ayahna behind the leg and sending her to one knee. She would have roundhouse kicked her straight in the face, had Max not seen his opening and caught her by the leg, stopping her dead in her tracks. Astraea yanked at her leg, trying to wiggle free, but Max's grip was like a Stygian Iron vice. She tried to kick her way out of his grip, but Max didn't even move an inch from the blow, still holding onto her leg. He scowled at her, clearly not happy with the fact that she was beating up on his friends. He whipped around and swung her into a nearby car, the entire vehicle screeching a few feet from the impact before settling down once again. Astraea was covered in cuts and scrapes, all oozing the same rose gold blood. Max extended a hand to Ayahana, who took it gratefully.

"Thanks, Max."

"Twas my pleasure." He smiled confidently. Lily stomped back over the the group, grumbling about 'stupid magic juice' and 'tar in her hair.' Aside from a few scraped, she was otherwise unharmed; a perk of being the child of a Titan. She shot A.I. her patented glare, clearly knowing exactly what he was thinking as he tried his hardest not to smile.

"One word and I gut you right here." She growled threateningly. A.I. somehow kept a straight face while she was looking at him. When she turned to look at Astraea's body, he had to bite his knuckle to keep from laughing. They all looked at the unconscious form of Astraea, clearly shaken.

"Ok, I'm going to say what we're all thinking; What... The heck... Was in that juice?" A.I. asked, clearly disturbed. Ayahna looked just as confused as the rest of them, but they still looked to her for an answer.

"I-I don't really know. I've never seen anything like this. A mortal being able to fight and almost best demigods in combat? Unheard of." She stated. She slowly reached towards Astraea's belt, as though she might get burned by touching her.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked, looking over her shoulder curiously.

"When Astraea opened up her buckle to get that serum, I saw she carried 2 vials with her. If I can get my hands on one, perhaps we can find someone who might know what it is." She explained. She had almost reached the buckle when Astraea's eyes shot open. She whipped out her hand and grabbed Ayahna's wrist, tossing her into an unexpecting Max before standing up. Even as she stood there, the bones that were most certainly broken from the impact began cracking and snapping back into place. A.I. dry heaved, putting his fist up to his mouth and looking away.

"Ok, that's nasty." He choked out swallowing air and regaining his composure.

"Sorry, but this serum isn't for sale." Astraea smirked. Even the cuts and bruises were healing, until she looked and acted as though none of that had ever happened. Max and Ayahna stood next to Lily and A.I. For a moment, no one moved or spoke, until as per usual A.I. broke the silence looking over to Ayahna.

"And you thought POM Wonderful was some good juice." He muttered. Astraea stretched, her back cracking back into place as she advanced them once more. Ayhana looked over at the others, steeling her expression.

"The only way we are going to beat her is together. We have to fight as one." She instructed. They each nodded, standing their ground together. Astraea swung at A.I. first, Lily sticking her sword out and blocking the blow, giving him enough time to kick her in the stomach. Astraea slid backwards, but regained her balance and pivoted around, swinging at Ayahan, who blocked the strike, suddenly ducking down right as Max swung his giant mace at her. Astraea barely had time to block the massive blow, which still sent her somersaulting backwards down the street. She skid to a halt on one knee, gasping for air and looking really winded.

"Come on, Astraea; get up." A.I. taunted, Lily joining in.

"Yeah, we're not even getting started."

"We have not even begun to fight." Max chimed in as well, Ayahna smiling.

"What they said."

Astraea roared and sprung to her feet, raising her blade only to realize the impact had shattered it in half. She threw it to the side and reached behind her, pulling out 2 daggers about the same size as A.I.'s butterflies. She charged them once more, this time swinging at Lily first, who barrel rolled out of the way. Ayahna kicked her behind the knee, exacting vengeance and immobilizing her all at once. A.I. ripped a nearby flagpole out of the ground, slamming her right in the abdomen and tossing her into the air. Max jumped up swung his mace down with fury, spiking Astraea straight into the ground. A massive dust cloud formed from the impact, obscuring their vision. At first, nothing happened, but soon they saw a figure staggering out of the dust. The effects of the elixir were obviously wearing off, her eyes halfway between blue and pink as she slowly made her way back over to them, clearly in no condition to fight.

"I am…. Not done… with you y-" She was interrupted by Lily, who drove a crazy strong right hook straight into her jaw.

"You talk too much." She spat, crossing her arms defiantly. After catching their breath for a moment, Ayahna reached around Astraea's unconscious form and opened up the belt buckle, pulling out the pink vial as quickly as possible. Astraea groaned softly, obviously injured. She tried to move, but Lily kicked her in the ribs, sending her back down to the ground. Ayahna gestured back to the car, slipping the vial into her pocket.

"Come on, we need to get out of here-" Ayahna began.

"-Before the authorities get here, we know the drill." A.I. chuckled as they quickly made their way back to their vehicle. Lily looked really confused as they all got in and Ayahna started the car.

"Well, It always is fun to meet up with old friends." A.I. commented, smirking wildly once again.

"I thought that we should take her for interrogation." Lily admitted, Ayahna shaking her head.

"I thought the same thing; but then I realized they most likely have a tracker on her, and would be able to find us no matter where we go. Plus, I'm certain that she would die before telling us anything, even if just out of spite." Ayahna explained. A.I. was spinning his drumsticks a bit faster than usual, obviously thinking about something.

"Well, this is new. What the heck kind of power juice allows mortals to keep up with us?" He asked.

"Perhaps it has something to do with our time as prisoners?" Max asked, Lily nodding.

"It can't be an accident that we've never heard of this stuff, and suddenly when we escape it starts popping up." She agreed.

"I guess the better question is why aren't all of the Syndikate members using it? I mean, they would have easily overpowered us back at their prison if they were, but those guards were just basic bros." A.I. continued questioning.

"It could be that it costs too much to manufacture and they can only afford to give it to their top operatives." Lily offered.

"Or it could be that only some can survive the injection. I mean, did you see the way Astraea's veins popped and her muscles strained when she used that stuff? I'd imagine it must be very harsh on the mortal body." Ayahna added. A.I. looked around at each of them. Aside from Max, who seemed to be relatively unharmed, they all looked more banged up than they ever had. Lily's shirt was torn on the back from landing so hard, and a small spot of dried up blood could be seen on her forehead. Ayahna looked much the same; a bit of blood on the corner of her mouth. A.I. looked at himself in the mirror; he had a scratch on his cheek, and one that tore a claw mark like tear across the chest of his tee shirt. His jacket was cut up in multiple different places, looking more like a homeless man's jacket than a leather jacket. They were all covered in dirt, sweat, and blood, but none of them really noticed. For them, this was how they had lived ever day of their lives.

"Hey guys; mind if I fix you all up real quick?" He asked, not waiting for an answer as he closed his eyes and snapped his fingers. Everyone's clothes repaired back to their original condition.

"How did you-" Ayahna began asking.

"I pretty much reset your clothes back to when you first got them. You're welcome." He smirked, leaning back in his seat and putting in an earbud, listening to "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John.

Ayahna turned the car onto Navajo Street. They could already see the fortune teller's tent; it was the only tent on the street and it stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Alright, let's go find out where the leader of the Syndikate is." Lily said as they got out of the car, and made their way into the tent.

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Astraea was practically dragged into the control room at the Syndikate headquarters. After she had activated her distress beacon, she had been picked up from her grueling defeat within the hour. Now, she knelt before the Grandmaster, shaking at her failure. He turned around in his seat, his arms crossed as he looked down at her.

"So, Req. 5. Your mission was to track and eliminate the Requiators. How did that work out." He spoke. She could tell by the tone in his voice that he wasn't really asking; he already knew what had happened. He just wanted to make her say it.

"I-I engaged the enemy, but they overpowered me, Your Greatness. They were just too strong, even with the ροδόνερο." Astraea said, pain behind every word.

"So even with our miracle Rodonero, you still failed to capture the Requiators." He confirmed. For a moment there was silence between them, until the Grandmaster spoke.

"All is forgiven, child. I did not expect a favorable outcome from this battle." The Grandmaster said softly, Astraea standing up in shock.

"Wh-What? You knew I would fail to capture them?" She stuttered, the Grandmaster standing up and walking over to her.

"But of course. It all happened exactly as planned, Astraea. Failure is a valuable tool for learning. The data I retrieved from you previous scuffle will more than suffice. However, your task is not yet finished. There is still one thing I need you to do." The Grandmaster explained.

"You are the only test subject to survive the Rodonero infusion; I need you to find me more test subjects like yourself; subjects that can and will withstand the infusion. Find them, recruit them, and train them. This new group will become the AntiReqs; together you will eliminate the Requiators and make way for Phase 2." He finished, sitting back in his chair once more. Astraea smiled, bowing to the Grandmaster.

"With pleasure, Master." She stated firmly, turning around and walking out of the room.


	18. Chapter 18

Percy and the others finally made it to Omaha, Nebraska and were immediately greeted with a first hand view of these rogue's destructive power. An entire street was taped off with yellow police tape. Leo whistled lowly under his breath as Argus drove them past the site; There was a small crater in the middle of the road, 2 cars had been completely smashed, and the remains of a heated battle could be seen up and down the street.

"Chiron was right… these guys seem to be looking for a fight everywhere they go. I mean, we don't even leave this big of a mess on our missions!" Leo exclaimed, gesturing to a broken, fallen store sign for extra emphasis.

"They are mercenaries; this is all they know how to do. They feel nothing; no shame, no remorse, no regret. They exist for one purpose and one purpose only; to kill." Annabeth explained.

"The only question is why here? Why come to the middle of Nebraska?" Percy asked as he looked out the window. He happened to glance down the road, seeing a little yard sign posted up next to the stop sign, his eyes widening.

"I think I may have just found the answer to my own question." He informed, pointing to the sign down the road. It was a tiny advertisement for "Lady E's". Annabeth examined the tiny ad before nodding in agreement.

"Well, it does make sense; It's definitely worth checking out at any rate." She said, asking Argus to take them there. He simply nodded, turning on his turn signal and making his way to Lady E's.

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The Requiators made their way into Lady E's tent. It was set up like any other fortune teller's tent; A small table was set up in the middle of the tent, with 5 chairs set up all around it. The table was covered with a large, red and white striped cloth. In the middle of the table was a crystal ball, sitting ominously with a slight haze covering the inside. To the left was a shelf stocked with all different kinds of brews and potions, though they were most likely for show.

"This place is way creepy." A.I. said with a smile. Ayahna had her back turned to him, and was examining the ball on the table, so A.I. slowly reached out towards one of the vials of potion on the shelf. He was stopped cold by Lily, who reached out and grabbed his wrist jerkily.

"Are you really that stupid?" She exasperated. He shrugged, still smirking childishly.

"Come on, Lil'; they're secret potions. I just wanna look!" He whined, trying to reach for them once again. This time, Lily forcefully slapped his hand. He grabbed the injured wrist, a pouty look plastered on his face.

"Ouch! I just dislocated that, thank you very much." He complained. Lily smiled, pushing past him.

"Oh, you don't have to thank me for inflicting pain. But are certainly welcome." She snickered. A.I.'s eyes narrowed as she walked away.

"Well played, Lily. Well played." He whispered under his breath, moving away from the shelves. After looking around for a moment, Max spoke up.

"It does not appear that there is a witch in this tent, friends." Max informed, the rest of the group nodding to the obvious.

"Maybe she's busy applying moisturizer to her wrinkly, old prune skin?" A.I. suggested, a devilish smirk on his face.

"Wrinkly? Old? You obviously don't know me very well, Mr. Anastus." A voice spoke from right behind A.I., sending his practically leaping through the ceiling.

"Whoa! What the? How did you- you do not look like a witch." He ended cooly. The girl standing in front of them looked completely different than the one on the poster. Whereas the old lady on the poster was wrinkly and old, this girl looked to be about the same age as they were. She had very pale, white skin and bright, vibrant green eyes. Her hair was a bright silver color that shone under the dim light.

"How did you know his name?" Ayahna asked. The girl smiled, sitting down in one of the chairs.

"I know many things… 'Ayahna' as your friends call you. The four of you are a very peculiar case; 4 mercenaries out of their own times, thrust into the modern world with only one goal; revenge. Honestly it sounds like a plot straight out of the movies and I love it." The girl admitted. Lily frowned, looking the girl straight in the eyes.

"And you are?" She growled, the young girl smiling.

"Oh, right. Where are my manners. I am Lady E, fortune teller extraordinaire." She bowed illustriously. A.I. was the only one to bow back, smirking the whole time.

"Lady E stands for…" Ayahna asked, the girl's smile brightening.

"Egeria." She informed, Ayahna's eyes widening.

"I suppose this means you know what we came here for." Lily asked, Egeria sitting back down, gesturing for them to do the same.

"Of course I know what it is you seek, but I can't simply tell you." She explained. She closed her eyes, and the entire room seemed to grow a bit dimmer, as though reacting to her presence. She reached out her hands, her eyes still closed. The crystal ball in the middle of the table began to twist and warp, following every slight movement of her hands.

"I have to tell you your fortune first." She finished.

"Why would we care? All we need to know is where the Syndikate leader is hiding so we can go finish what he started. Period." Lily insisted, obviously fed up with all of the 'magic junk'. Egeria opened one eye slightly, raising an eyebrow at Lily curiously.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, young one. But this is neccessary of you wish to find what you truly seek." She explained, closing her eye again. Lily sighed, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes as Egeria proceeded. For a few moments, she just sat there with her eyes closed. Her face went from blank to concerned, to horrified in rapid succession. She began shaking violently, the 4 demis not knowing what to do. A rare serious expression came over A.I.'s face as he reached out towards Egeria.

"I'm going in." He informed the others his hand hovering over the fortune teller's. They all looked at him with confused looks on their faces, except for Lily, whose eyes grew wide when he realized what he meant.

"You can't, Amadeus. It's too dangerous." Lily commanded, but A.I. ignored her, placing his hand on top of Egeria's. His consciousness was sucked out of his body, A.I.'s face contorting into the same look as Egeria's. Whatever it was he was seeing, it looked awful.

"Lily, what is going on?" Ayahna asked. Lily looked over, genuinely concerned but trying her best to cover it up.

"She short version? Idiot just entered into Egeria's mind, and is now prancing around with her in whatever horrible vision she is having right now." She explained. A.I. began convulsing as well, shaking visibly in his chair. Beads of sweat were rolling down both of their faces, and they looked like they were witnessing the end of the world. Suddenly, they both drew in a massive breath, jolting forwards like they had been electrocuted. Even Ayahna was a bit worried when she saw the look on A.I.'s face; horror.

"How do we stop it? That can't be how it ends." A.I. insisted. Ayahna looked back and forth between them, confusion evident on her face.

"What? What are we stopping?" She asked, but A.I. and Egeria ignored her.

"That is the future, but not the only one. That is what will happen if you and your friends follow your current course of action." Egeria explained. A.I. ran his hands through his golden locks, pacing back and forth as he spun his drumsticks faster than ever before. Suddenly, he stopped, whipping around and extending his hand.

"Show me what to do to keep that from happening. I need to know what to do." A.I. practically begged. Egeria bit her lip, looking away.

"It is not my decision. You are special, A.I.; no one is supposed to be able to see their own fate." She explained. A.I. didn't move, but rather stepped closer, his hand still extended.

"Yeah, well if you saw what I did, we don't have much of a choice, now do we? I can fix this before it happens, Egeria. You've got to show me what to do." He plead. She refused to make eye contact, but sighed and placed her hand in his, closing her eyes and focusing. A.I. closed his eyes too, and the two of them went back into a trance-like state. A moment of two later, their eyes shot open once again.

"And you're sure that is the future we need, Egeria?" He asked, Egeria nodding.

"That is the only other future. Right now the timeline is split into two possible futures, A.I. Now you know which to choose." She affirmed.

"But… what do I do after what you showed me?" He asked, obviously not seeing the entire future. Egeria smiled softly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, and follow. They will show you the way." She explained. He reached out and hugged her softly, much to the Olympian's surprise.

"Thanks, Egeria." He whispered, before letting her go and turning to his friends.

"A.I., what the heck just-" Ayahna began, but was cut off.

"Ayahna, I can't… I can't tell you what I saw, ok? Remember at the hotel, when I explained to you guys that time was fragile? Yeah, well anything I tell you now will alter the future. So I can't tell you all that I saw. But I can tell you this," He explained, pointing to the door of the tent.

"There are 4 people waiting for us outside of this tent, and we need to test their strength. But Do. Not. Kill. Them." He commanded, looking over at Lily. She scoffed and threw her arms in the air.

"Oh, sure. I'm the only one around here who likes to kill." She griped, A.I.'s smirk returning. He looked over at Ayahna with pleading eyes.

"If they are the real deal, our new mission is to follow them and help them with whatever they need." He finished, Ayahna stepping backwards.

"No. We have our mission. First, we kill the leader of the Syndikate. That is our mission." She insisted. A.I. looked more crazed that any of them had ever seen, but not in a happy, fun way.

"Ayahna, please believe me when I say that if we do that…" He paused, looking back at Egeria. Her face was pale and sickly, like she was worried he would slip up. He sighed, gently grabbing Ayahna's arm.

"... Bad things happen if we do that. Please trust me." He whispered. Ayahna bit her lip, worry and a tinge of fear on her face. She knew A.I. was crazy, but what he had seen was real. And any daughter of Athena would know to listen to reason, logic, and facts.

"Very well. Our new mission is to follow A.I.'s lead until it is safe for us to pursue the Syndikate leader." She agreed. A.I. let out a huge breath, his smirk returning.

"Excellent. Now, we should probably draw our weapons…There are a few monsters waiting for us outside. Giant scorpion tailed snakes to be precise… Ah, nostalgia. While we are battling, there will be 4 other warriors who will arrive; Remember; no killing them. If they want to fight, don't go easy, but don't kill. If these guys are the real deal, we follow them and prevent…. Bad things from happening. Trust me guys, we have no choice." He ended cheerfully, right back to his crazy old self. They all drew their weapons, ready to face whatever challenges laid ahead. A.I. gently scooted Lily a few inches to the right.

"3...2...1…" A.I. counted down. The moment he got to 1, a large, Scorpion tail burst through the tent, skewering where Lily was just standing. A.I. sliced off the tip of the tail, catching it in his open hand. He turned to Egeria and smiled warmly.

"Thanks… for everything." He said kindly. She smiled right back, waving.

"With all you and your friends are about to do… I should be thanking you." She replied. He nodded and turned back around, the Requiators charging out of the tent to be met with 5 Cerastae, who looked more than a little unhappy.

"I thought you said a few!" Lily scolded, jumping up and slashing one's head clean off, kicking the dismembered head into another. A.I. blocked one's fangs with his blade, looking back at her.

"This is a few! 5 is a few!" He yelled back, pulling out the tail piece he had sliced off and stabbing the creature with it. Max had picked one up above his head, and brought it down on his knee, snapping its back.

"Is not 5 referred to as a bunch?" He questioned, whipping the Cerastae's corpse around and slamming it into another, both flying out of sight. A.I. stopped dead in the middle of the field to think about it.

"I'm pretty sure that 4 or more monsters is called a gangle. No, no it's a cavalcade. Dang it! Is it a gangle or a cavalcade?" He wondered aloud. Ayahna and Lily were dealing with the last Cerastae, but it was the biggest and strongest of them, so they were having a tough time.

"A.I.!" Both girls shouted at the same time, zapping him out of his crazy trance.

"Oh right… monsters." He smirked and shrugged. He looked over at Max, placing one of his earbuds in as he talked.

"Max, I'll stop him, you toss him." A.I. commanded, Max smiling as he charged in. A.I. focused on his target, then closed his eyes and snapped, the Cerastae freezing in its place. Max charged in and punched the creature as hard as he could, the snake exploding into a cloud of dust all over Lily, Ayahna, and Max. A.I. burst out laughing at them as they shook off as much of the dust as they could. Lily picked up some of the dust angrily and packed it into a ball, launching it at A.I. and covering him as well.

"Now that's just rude." He said with a smirk, snapping his fingers. The dust vanished off of all of them as they stood among the golden remains.

"Remember guys, no killing." He reminded as a large van pulled up to the now dust covered grounds, 4 kids about their age getting out. One of the, a blonde girl with a very familiar face, looked over a boy with black, messy hair.

"That's them, Percy." She explained, pulling a dagger out of a sheath on her belt. Percy, as she called him, pulled out a plain looking pen, which he uncapped into a sword.

"And here I thought the pen really was mightier than the sword." A.I. joked. Two more kids came around the back. One looked like a latino elf with curly hair, and the other… was a cyclops.

"Excellent!" Max cried out in joy.

"Last time I fought a Cyclops was in the gladiator ring; it was one of my favorite battles! I yearn to wrestle this creature once more!" He explained.

"My name is Percy Jackson. I was sent by the orders of Zeus to take you all with me back to our Camp. He would just like to ask you a few questions, that's all." The boy named Percy tried to reason with them. A.I. squinted his eyes, as though he was trying to decide what to do.

"Hmmm…. Nope." He said casually. Percy seemed to be a bit taken aback by his response.

"No? I don't think you understand. Zeus… Lord of the Skies… wants to speak with you." He explained again. A.I. reached back, and pulled an imaginary schedule out of his back pocket.

"Let me check my schedule… hmm…. Nope, sorry. Completely booked." He shrugged. The elf boy looked over to Percy, his eyes wide.

"This guy is crazy!" He whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"You are a terrible whisperer." Max stated, the look on his face showing he meant every word.

"Your whispering skill could not be any worse if you tried. You are simply awful." He continued, A.I. trying not to laugh. The blonde girl stepped forwards putting her foot down firmly.

"Look, either you come with us peacefully, or we make you. Your choice." She insisted. Lily growled, stepping forwards as well.

"Don't you threaten me, Goldilocks. I'll pick my teeth with your bones." She growled.

"I believe what my friend here means to say it that if you don't move out of our way, you're going to be leaving here in tiny pieces." A.I. explained, spinning his swords around as he spoke.

"Now, we'll just be on our wa-" A.I. tried to push his way through them, but stepped in front of him. A.I.'s cheerful smiled turned a bit more sinister as he stared Percy dead in the eyes.

"Either you move, pal, or I move you." He threatened. When Percy didn't move, A.I. sighed.

"Your choice." He shrugged, suddenly shoving Percy in the chest. He flew through the air, landing on his back about 20 feet away, obviously shocked and winded. The erupted everyone into mad chaos. Leo yanked a giant blacksmith's hammer out of his pouch eyeing A.I. mischievously.

"You know what time it is?" Leo asked coyly. A.I. literally gasped in excitement.

"Of course. It's Hammer Time!" He said. Leo allowed his guard to drop, gesturing with his hammer.

"Awe, come on, dude! You stole my thunder!" Leo whined. A.I. smirked even brighter.

"Not sorry, Reese's" He proclaimed. Ayahna was pushing Annabeth back when when noticed A.I. chatting with Leo.

"Focus, A.I.; fight now, socialize later." She reminded, A.I. shaking his head.

"Right. Sorry about this." A.I. shrugged, lunging at Leo. Ayahna was battling against Annabeth, both countering and blocking at incredible speeds. Ayahna swung low, but Annabeth saw it coming, swinging he dagger downwards to block. Ayahna cocked an eyebrow at her, a smirk playing at the corner of her mouth.

"A daughter of Athena?" Ayahna questioned, Annabeth looking at her in shock.

"How did you…" Annabeth began asking, Ayahna chuckling.

"Only children of Athena fight as strategically as we do, sister." She explained, Annabeth connecting the dots. Ayahna pushed forwards, sending Annabeth skidding across the ground. She recovered quickly, charging Ayahna once again. Percy was busy fighting off Lily, who was in all out attack mode. It was all Percy could do to block blow after blow from the tiny Titan strength fueled attacks. Lily pushed Percy back further and further, and there was little he could do but block blow after blow. Suddenly, she swung at him and he blocked with ten times more strength than before. Lily looked shocked and confused. They both slowly looked down, seeing Percy had stepped into a tiny nearby stream. He looked back up and smiled, looking rejuvenated and ready for round two. She swung at him again, but this time he blocked and was able to parry, slicing her in the arm. He raised his left hand, the river responding to his call as it pooled above him.

"Forgot to mention; I'm a Son of Poseidon." He shrugged, thrusting his hand out. The massive wall of water completely consumed Lily, knocking her clear off of her feet and vaulting her across the tiny yard. He jerked his hand back, the water flowing back into the river, Percy smirking triumphantly. His joy came to a screeching halt when he saw a very angry looking Lily, still standing and very soaked. He could literally see her eyes glowing a sinister red as she spit out a mouthful of water, flipping her now soaked hair behind her.

"Ok. Now I'm pissed." She deadpanned. Percy had no idea what to expect, when a dagger came flying at him out of nowhere. He could feel a trickle of blood flow down his cheek, the water instantly healing the cut right back up. He didn't have time to think much of it as Lily attacked him once more, this time with even more power behind every blow. Even the water's power was not enough as Lily drove Percy to his knees with every strong and precise strike. She whipped around and kicked him straight in the face, sending him flying. Meanwhile, Max was engaged in his own fight. He smiled brightly, cracking his knuckles and gesturing Tyson on.

"Come, creature; let us test our strength." He offered. An obviously nervous Tyson leaned back and threw a punch at Max, who caught the fist mid air, raising an eyebrow at the young cyclops.

Max delivered a massive right hook, connecting directly with Tyson's cheek and sending him flying through the air and into a large boulder. For a moment, it seemed as though Tyson was down, Max turning and scoffing.

"I knew that monster would be no match for my-" He was interrupted when a large rock shattered into pieces on his head, Max turning to see a now angered Tyson, who spit out a little bit of blood before wiping his mouth angrily. Max smiled at the sight.

"Finally, a worthy challenger." He muttered to himself. The two slowly started walking towards one another, then jogging, and finally full out sprinting until they met in the middle, Tyson swinging his fist and Max doing the same. The 2 projectile punches met with a resounding smack, both stopping dead in their tracks. Max swung a left hook at Tyson, but this time he dodged out of the way, delivering a hard jab to Max's ribs.

"Ow! Ha! Pain! It is nice to finally see you again my old friend!" Max cheered, but Tyson was completely ignoring him. He swept Max's legs out from underneath him, then grabbed a leg and began spinning around. He spun once, twice, then vaulted Max as far as he could. Percy, who was at the time trying to keep from getting decapitated by Lily, still took the time to look over and smile at Tyson.

"Nice one, bro!" He cried, almost getting chopped in half as Lily advanced, screaming about how he had tangled her hair and how he would 'pay in blood'. Annabeth and Ayahna were still dueling evenly, but it was apparent that, although Annabeth was a seasoned warrior and was astounding with a dagger, she had never trained to fight som long non-stop; most of her battles she could end much more quickly. Fatigue was evident on her face as she continued striking and blocking, but Ayahna could see what was happening.

"You grow weaker by the second; it is apparent that you cannot defeat me this time." As if to prove her point, Ayahna blocked then disarmed Annabeth, holding her sword a few inches away from Annabeth's neck. Ayahna was even breathing heavy, a bit of sweat on her brow.

"You have done well, sister; Mother would be proud." Ayahna smirked. She heard the all to familiar sound of A.I. singing to himself, her eye twitching.

"Tell me he isn't-" She began, Annabeth looking around her to see A.I. wearing earphones, dance-dodging as Leo tried to hit hit him with his hammer.

"SATURDAY NIGHTS ALRIGHT FOR A FIGHT, GET A LITTLE ACTION IN!" A.I. sang along, Leo trying to hit him to no avail. A.I. was just too quick to be hit by the much more sluggish hammer. Leo placed it back on his belt, igniting his hands into flames.

"Ok, you wanna play games? We can play games!" Leo yelled, tossing a fireball at A.I., who didn't even flinch as he simply sidestepped the flaming projectile. Annabeth looked at Ayahna with confusion and worry, Ayahna sighing.

"A.I. is… special." She explained, the tone in her voice making it apparent that 'special' was just the tip of the iceberg. Leo was firing fireball after fireball at A.I., who was dodging like a pro. He slid underneath one, and sidestepped another before side flipping over a final one and launching his butterfly swords, pinning Leo to a nearby tree by his shirt, barely missing his shoulders. Leo squealed, opening his eyes slowly.

"I'm not dead? I'm not dead! I'm alive!" He cried happily. Annabeth suddenly rolled out from underneath Ayahna trying to slice at her. A.I. seemed to suddenly appear next to her, holding her dagger and shaking his head.

"Not cool, blondie. Not cool." He shamed, putting back in one earbud and running over to help Lily. She turned and snarled at him as he approached.

"I don't need your help, A.I." She insisted, swinging at Percy once again. Percy was covered in sweat from blocking blow after blow from Lily. A.I. sighed,

"Ok, Lil'; I think he's had enough." A.I. explained, stepping between them. Lily took a minute to regain her composure, before resheathing her blade. A.I. and Lily began to walk away, when A.I. felt something cold, wet, and hard smack him in the back of the head. He whipped around, a look of disbelief on his face.

"Excuse you?" He cried. Percy was standing triumphantly in the tiny stream, looking completely healed. He spun his sword around, gesturing to them.

"I'm not done fighting quite yet." Percy insisted. A.I. shrugged, waving his hand permittingly at Lily.

"Guess he's not done yet. Continue." A.I. said, Lily scowling at him.

"You don't give me orders." She insisted, but charged at Percy once again. He was fighting her and keeping up blow for blow. Meanwhile, Max had made his way back to the area and was wrestling with Tyson. They were locked in a heated duel, trading earth-shaking blows to the stomach and head. Max slipped a punch and delivered a hard counter hook. Tyson recovered more quickly than Max anticipated and caught him off guard, slamming his fist into Max's face. They both had a few bruises, but did not look at all like they had just traded blows like they did.

"You are a strong warrior, creature. I applaud you. But you cannot beat the son of Hercules!" He cried, jabbing Tyson in the gut and lifting him into the air, slamming him back down into the ground with massive force. Any other monster would have disintegrated into dust, but Tyson slowly staggered to his feet. Max's eyes grew wide as he laughed a hearty laugh.

"I must say I am impressed!" Max admitted. A.I. looked around at all 4 of their opponents, and suddenly snapped his fingers. He moved everyone from their battles, placing his friends on one side and the newcomers on the other. When he was finished separating them, he snapped once again, everyone moving once again.

"Ok, guys; we've seen all we need to see. They're the ones." A.I. explained. Ayahna was hesitant, but resheathed her blade and nodded for the others to do the same. Percy and the others looked more shocked and confused than ever, A.I. explaining.

"Long story, but the short version is that we just met with an ancient Olympian fortune teller, and found out that bad things are going to happen if we don't work with you guys. We just had to find out if you guys were really tough enough to make a difference; and you passed." Annabeth looked like she could not believe what she was hearing.

"You mean… you were pulling punches?" She asked, A.I. and the other Reqs. laughing.

"Oh yes, most certainly" Max said.

"Fish boy would have been fish bait!" Lily chuckled.

"Not as much as I would like to admit, but yes," Ayahna admitted. A.I. walked over to Leo and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to stop laughing.

"I would have killed you… so many times." He explained, Leo forcing a smile and giving a thumbs up.

"Yeah… thanks for that." The mood was sobered by Percy speaking up.

"So, what exactly kind of 'bad things' are we supposed to help you stop?" He asked. They all looked at A.I., who refused to give any details away.

"The bad kind. Now, I believe you were going to take us somewhere?" A.I. asked, Leo nodding.

"Back to good ol' Camp Half-Blood." He affirmed, the Reqs all groaning in annoyance. Annabeth raised an eyebrow at their antics.

"Is there a problem with that?" She asked, A.I. nodding.

"Camp Half-Blood? As in, the Legion of Half-Bloods? Man, they were annoying! Always had to be all 'noble' and 'heroic'... made me look like a bad person." He explained, crossing his arms.

"But," He continued, "Seeing as though our only other option is… not really an option, lead the way!" He finished excitedly. Ayahna stepped forwards, eyeing each one of them individually.

"Look, if this is going to work out, you are going to need to understand that we are not coming with you as prisoners. We are coming of our own free will. We will hear what Zeus has to say, and if we do not like it, we will leave. Agreed?" She stated, Annabeth sticking out her hand.

"Deal." She agreed, Ayahna shaking firmly.

"Alright then. Lead the way; we will follow behind. How far away is this 'Camp Half-Blood'?" Ayahna asked.

"It's in Long Island, New York." Percy said, Ayahna crunching the numbers.

"That's 20 hours and 31 minutes away by car… we'll stop at the nearest hotel at 9:00, and continue in the morning." She explained, everyone nodding. The Reqs walked over and all climbed into their car, the engine roaring to life as they rolled out of their parking space and fell in line behind the van. Annabeth's eyes grew a bit wider when she saw the car.

"Nice ride. We'll signal when we are pulling over." She explained. A.I. suddenly whooped in joy.

"Family road trip!" He screamed, plugging in his Ipod, "Sweet Child of Mine" by Guns 'n' Roses pumping out of the speaker system. A.I. whipped out one of his drumsticks and began belting out the lyrics as the Requiators followed the Heroes of Olympus, now off on an unknown journey.


	19. Chapter 19

After travelling for the next 2 days, the group of demis finally pulled up to Half-Blood Hill, everyone getting out of their respective vehicles, Percy and the others leading the Reqs up the hill.

"So, this is Camp Half-Blood? Seems more like a recreational camp than a training ground. It cannot breed very strong warriors." Max commented. A.I. smirked, elbowing his larger companion playfully.

"Dude, I bet they fight with plastic swords and make friendship bracelets." He snickered, his expression instantly changing to a very serious look.

"But seriously; friendship bracelets… yay or nay?" He asked as they walked past Thalia's tree. Ayahna made it past the barrier just fine, as did Max, but Lily and A.I. were zapped by the magical force field as soon as they touched it.

"What the heck is this? Some kind of joke?" Lily raged, punching the barrier only to be repelled once again. She shook her hand, trying to get some feeling back. The look on Percy's face showed that he was just as shocked as they were.

"I'll go get Chiron… he's our camp director. He'll know what's going on. One of us should stay with you guys… Leo?" Percy asked, Leo shrugging and sitting down right next to A.I. on the opposite side of the barrier. The others went to find Chiron, and for a few moments everything was eerily silent, until A.I. suddenly started singing.

"Hello…. It's me. I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet." He sang, Leo looking over at him, his eyes growing wide.

"To go over…. Everything. They say that time's supposed to heal ya, I ain't done much healing. Hello…. Can you hear me?" Leo sang along. Both boys looked like they had just made a new best friend, Lily looking between the 2 with fear in her eyes.

"No… there can't be 2 of him." She begged.

"I'm in California dreaming dreaming about who we used to be. When we were younger and free. I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet. There's such a distance…" A.I. said, placing his hand on the barrier ignoring the pain.

"Between us…"

"And a million miles." Leo finished, before both boys sand in unison at the top of their lungs.

"Hello Hello from the other side! I must have called a thousand times! To tell you I'm sorry- for everything that I've done- but when I call you never- Seem to be home- Hello from the outside! At least I can say that I've tried! To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart- but it don't matter, it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore!" They both finished, laughing their heads off at the end. Leo wiped a tear from the corner of his eye, still smiling.

"Dude… you know Adele?" Leo asked, extremely surprised. A.I. nodded, smirking like a little kid.

"Yeah, I heard her on the radio in our car… I wish I could get some of the new music onto this." He held up his Ipod.

"As of currently, it is loaded with all the best hits from the 60's, 70's and 80's…. Still amazing music," A.I. made sure to correct, Leo nodding.

"Yeah, good times for music, but I feel ya. You need a change of musical scenery every once in a while." Leo assumed, A.I. nodding. Leo gestured to the Ipod.

"Slide it through? I promise I'll give it right back." Leo asked, A.I. shrugging and sliding the Ipod across the barrier, Leo picking it up and examining it carefully before nodding.

"Oh yeah, I can hook you up with some new tunes, easy. The Hermes cabin has a part playlist they use for DJ-ing parties… that'll work perfectly." Leo offered, sliding the device back to A.I., who looked at Lily happily.

"I think I just made a new bff!" He practically squealed. By then, Chiron and the others had finally made their way over to the barrier.

"Oh…. mah…. gerds." A.I. gasped, looking at Chiron with a smile.

"You didn't tell me it was the same Chiron! Been a long time, horse-man." He finished, Chiron shuffling nervously.

"Yes… indeed it has." He responded, his tone indicating it had not been nearly long enough for Chiron. Annabeth looked over at the old Centaur, raising an eyebrow.

"So, why is it that these 2 can't get through the camp barriers? They aren't monsters are they?" She asked, A.I. gasping offendedly.

"And here I thought we were gonna be great friends, Towhead." A.I. said, a fake sad expression on his face. Annabeth clenched her fists, obviously not too keen on the nickname. Chiron cleared his throat, trying to signal for her to calm down a bit.

"No, they're not monsters. The barrier was designed to only allow in the children of the Gods; Half-God, Half-Human." Chiron explained, A.I. nodding his head in understanding. Annabeth looked between Lily and A.I., confusion and a tinge of fear evident by her facial expression.

"But- But if they're not monsters, and not demigods… what else could they be?" She asked, A.I. stepping forwards and clearing his throat.

"Oh, right. Forgot to properly introduce myself. I'm Amadeus, Son of the Titan Kronos, at your service, Madame Jessamine." He bowed elegantly. Percy literally stumbled back a step, looking A.I. dead in the eyes.

"I knew I remembered those eyes from somewhere." He whispered to himself. A.I. raised an eyebrow, rolling his eyes.

"You see, this is why I don't tell people! It's like they think that NOW I'm going to kill them all! If I was going to kill them, I'd have done it way back at that witch's hut." He explained to Lily, who actually nodded in understanding.

"Yeah I know the feeling. My dad was the Titan Pallas in case you were wondering." She added. Leo shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"So, wait- you guys are the children of the Titans? So, are you like… gods?" Leo asked, A.I. blowing raspberries.

"I wish! Nope, I'm a mortal just like you guys. Though, I guess you could call having a Titan as a parent an 'upgrade'." A.I. explained.

"How so?" Annabeth asked. A.I. sighed and walked over to the van that Percy and the others had been driving in. He reached underneath the front of it, and with both hands picked it up off of the ground before setting it back down. He jogged back over to the barrier, bushing off his hands.

"Well, for starters, Lily and I both have enhanced strength, speed, agility, and battle instincts beyond that of even demigods, with the exception of people like Max and Ayahna, whose specialty is lifting things and… what, thinking I guess?" A.I. asked Ayahna. Her eyes narrowed, signaling he was treading thin ice.

"Strategy and Knowledge." She said through grit teeth, obviously not liking the way A.I. treated her abilities so nonchalauntly.

"Anyways, we are physically and mentally enhanced farther than even most demigods, and on top of that, we both gained special abilities from our 'otherworldly' parents." A.I. explained. Percy looked a bit confused, finally speaking up.

"Special abilities?" He asked, almost sounding more fearful than curious. A.I. nodded, gesturing to a nearby apple that had fallen from a tree. It was brown and obviously rotten, and had holes where worms had chewed through it.

"Toss me that apple and I'll show you." He asked, Percy picking up the rotten fruit and rolling it across the barrier. A.I. picked it up, closing his eyes and concentrating. The apple slowly began getting redder and redder, the holes disappearing, until it was a full bodied, completely ripe and red apple, A.I. taking a bite, smirking at Percy, Leo, and Annabeth's faces; completely shocked.

"You can manipulate the space-time continuum." She stuttered, A.I. nodding. Chiron stepped forwards, looking at A.I. and Lily.

"I, Chiron, hereby grant access to Amadeus and Lilith." He spoke, thunder booming in the background. A.I., who was leaning against the barrier, suddenly fell forwards, stumbling before regaining his balance.

"Follow me." Chiron instructed, the group trekking behind them. As they walked, campers would slow to a stop, staring at them as they passed. They could hear people whispering things about them as they went.

'That's them; the ones Percy and Annabeth went after!'

'I thought they would be taller,'

'That one looks freaky.'

Amadeus was too busy eating his apple and humming along to "Rock n' Roll Fantasy" by Bad Company. He didn't even notice Annabeth slowing down until she was right besides him, watching as he bit into his apple only to reanimate it back to perfect condition.

"You should not be doing that." Annabeth commented, getting A.I.'s attention. He looked at her skeptically.

"Hum Rock n' Roll Fantasy? I mean, Bad Company might not have been the most popular band of 1979, but I really like them. I think that the problem was that they were overshadowed by other bands and artists. Michael Jackson released "Don't Stop Til' You Get Enough" the same year, and other songs like "Escape" by Rupert Holmes and "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd really made it hard for the song to-" He was cut off by Annabeth sighing loudly enough to interrupt.

"I wasn't talking about the music; I was talking about that." She insisted, pointing at the apple, which was regenerating as she spoke.

"You shouldn't mess with time like that, it can have catastrophic effects." She explained, A.I. laughing out loud.

"Blondie, please. You have no idea. I've messed up by just looking into the future; I can't count the amount of catastrophes I have-" Again he was interrupted, his eyes narrowing but Annabeth completely ignoring his unhappiness.

"Wait, you can see the future?" She asked, A.I. nodding.

"Well, yeah; kind of what 'time manipulation' means; though I do have my limitations." He admitted. When he saw Annabeth's clear 'keep talking' face he sighed.

"I can't see that far into the future; 30 minutes tops, and that's pushing it. I can also see the past, but only through someone's specific memories. I don't actually travel to the past or future either; I can just see them… most of the time. " Annabeth nodded, obviously still having questions.

"But you can use what you see to alter the future by changing things in the present, right? So, for instance, if you knew I was going to get hit by a car, you could see it coming and save me, right?" She asked, A.I. shaking his head in disagreement.

"Nope, I couldn't do it. Not unless I saw myself doing it already in the future. If saving you would alter the natural flow of time, I could not do it. Time is a very… fragile thing. I only manipulate time with things that I know will not have much if any effect on the future. For instance, this apple; it doesn't really make any different whether it rots or whether I fix it up and eat it; inconsequential. Now, let's say you are about to get hit by a car, and I see it happen in the future, but decide to save you instead. What I have just done is alter not only time as I know it, but time on an infinite scale. Instead of dying as you should have, you go on to have children; children that should have never existed. And they have children and so on and so on; hundreds of thousands of generations of children that should have never existed. All because of my one, singular choice. It can and does create massive fractures in time-space, and can cause anything from the mass extinction of our entire planet to the next world war, to a universe where the humans learn about the gods and revolt." A.I. explained, Annabeth looking like a bomb had just been dropped on her.

"H-how do you know all this?" She asked, A.I. shrugging.

"Mostly because I've done it before. A few times, anyways." He admitted, Annabeth looking like she was about to fall over.

"What? You mean… this isn't how time was supposed to be? What is different between this reality and the one that was supposed to exist?" She asked.

"No, this is the reality that Kronos wants… every time I would mess up the timeline, he would send his… Timekeepers. The Phantasms." He said, his enthusiasm deflating. Annabeth raised an eyebrow, her curiosity peaked.

"I take it that these 'Phantasms' can clean up your messes?" She asked, A.I. scoffing and smirking at her comment.

"That and the occasional time travelers from the 23rd century." He shrugged, Annabeth shocked.

"We-we unlock the secrets of time travel?!" She asked, A.I. smirking and leaning closer as if to tell a secret.

"Demigods figure it out way sooner than mortals. About 180 years ahead of them to be exact. Should be happening soon." He whispered, leaving her to think about their little talk as he put in an earbud, humming along to "Macho Man" by Village People, his smirk growing larger when Lily looked over and scoffed, rolling her eyes as he danced around, "following" them as he did. He got quite a few looks from other campers, but he was too preoccupied to notice them. He was also missing Chiron's quick 'tour' as they went. He followed them into Chiron's office, pausing his music and stuffing his headphones into his pocket when the arrived.

"Lord Zeus would like to have an audience with you 4. Percy, Annabeth, Leo; if you could wait outside for us?" Chiron asked. They all nodded and briskly made their way outside. Not a moment after they left, a loud crackle of thunder could be heard, lightning flashing as Zeus appeared in the room with them. He was leaning against the wall, eyeing each of the Reqs suspiciously. A.I. looked up and smiled at him, not looking the least bit intimidated, which seemed to make Zeus a bit angry.

"So you are the famed mercenaries that mysteriously disappeared from out of time." Zeus began. A.I. smirked even bigger, staring Zeus dead in the eye.

"And you must be my big brother." He replied. Zeus stepped forwards, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes, the air in the room literally becoming electric.

"I would watch the tone you take up with me, boy." He warned, A.I. scoffing and rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, sure thing, brotato chip. What exactly was it that you wanted to talk to us about?" He asked. Zeus was quite taken aback; normally people were terrified of him, and he really did not know how to respond to someone who seemed to be so out of his mind that he was not in the least bit afraid.

"I need to know how you survived all of this time, and more importantly what you planned on doing after 2000 years." Zeus demanded.

"Well, it wasn't actually my choice to be dragged into the 21st century, trust me A-Broham Lincoln. See, there's this cult called the Syndikato, or the Syndikate, and they kind of kidnapped us and trapped us in these special jail cells that made it so we wouldn't age. They did all sorts of experiments on us, and had us under the influence of this special kind of sleep drug that kept us unconscious. After a while, I was able to break the drug's hold on me, then I helped out my new fam." A.I. explained, gesturing to the other Reqs. Zeus' scowl seemed to deepen when A.I. mentioned the Syndikate. Ayahna noticed the change in facial expression, daring to look Zeus in the eyes, albeit nervously.

"You know the Syndikate, Lord Zeus?" She asked, Zeus sighing deeply.

"Yes, I do; I was the one who created the Syndikate, just not the one you fought against." Zeus began, pacing the room as he spoke.

"2500 years ago, when my son Hercules was born the very first demigod, the Olympians all quickly realised that he was much more powerful than any normal mortal. Then, other demigods began emerging; Achilles, Orion, Perseus. All of them were far greater than mere mortals, and were capable of mass destruction. This made us all realise that we had just unleashed upon the mortal world forces that it could not combat; if the demigods joined together, it could have meant the complete destruction of all mortal human life. We decided that the only way to ensure the safety of the mortal world would be to put together a special mythological task force. These mortals would be chosen from the greatest warriors mankind had to offer, and trained to defend themselves and their kind against any potential mythological threat, great or small. Some demigod even joined the ranks; fighting fire with fire. Needless to say, the task force was a complete success; those few dark-minded demigods were deterred from attempting any kind of mass genocide, and the human race was saved from extinction. Then, something happened to our task force. An unknown shadow entity known only as 'Pi' infiltrated and overtook the force, turning it into his own personal army. Rather than simply deter demigods, this new leader wanted to capture and experiment on them. Of course, there were still those within the task force that remained loyal to the Olympians, but they were quickly executed. However, one of the last loyalists was able to send an encrypted message to us before he died. He said the the task force was now a cult superpower known as the Syndikate, and that their leader was attempting to create a serum that would artificially change humans into demigod-like super soldiers." Zeus stopped when he saw the looks on the Reqs' faces. Ayahna reached into the pocket of her jacket, pulling out the purple vial and holding it up to Zeus.

"We saw a human mortal from 2000 years ago inject herself with this serum, which gave her the power to fight and best us one-on-one. She was 1000 times stronger and faster than any mortal should have ever been." Ayahna explained. A.I. stood up twirling a drumstick as he spoke.

"I went at her full force, Brotein Shake; She caught one of my strongest hits like it was nothing, and then tossed me aside like yesterday's trash. Whatever that juice is, it does stuff to mortals that just isn't natural." He explained, Zeus still scowling at the constant nicknames, but realising that A.I. was not going to stop unless Zeus either killed him or ripped out his tongue, neither of which would make the Reqs want to help him. Zeus paced around the room; a rock solid, unwavering blank look on his face. He paused, looking over at them curiously.

"You seem to have come relatively unresistanly, seeing as though Mr. Jackson and the others are-well-" Zeus gestured in the air, searching for the correct words. Lily raised an eyebrow, still standing in her angry, cross-armed pose.

"Not even scratched up? Disappointing, I know." She growled.

"My question is why? Why would you listen to them without hesitation?" He questioned. This time, A.I. had a serious look on his face, his eyes downcast to the floor. He raised his hand and snapped, time in the room coming to a halt except for himself and Zeus, who looked completely shocked. A.I. looked up at him, still serious and unhappy.

"... You're not allowed to alter the future, are you? I mean, you couldn't even if you wanted to, right? One of the rules of being an Olympian?" A.I. asked, Zeus looking more that a bit worried at the power A.I. seemingly possessed, but shook it off, nodding.

"That is correct. Why?" A.I. motioned for Zeus to come closer, whispering in his ear everything that he and Egeria had seen, and what A.I. knew was coming. Zeus' eyes grew wide at the revelation, A.I. pulling back and sitting in his seat.

"B-but what about after that? What do we then do?" Zeus asked, A.I. shrugged.

"That's as far as Egeria and I saw; beyond that… no one knows." He reached up and snapped again, everything in the room beginning to move once more. Ayahna looked over at A.I. questioningly, raising an eyebrow at him.

"You did the thing again, didn't you?" She asked. A.I. looked like a little kid, trying his hardest not to smile and failing miserably.

"What thing?" He asked, Ayahna obviously not in the mood for his games as she sighed deeply.

"You froze time again, didn't you?" She corrected herself, rolling her eyes at his antics.

"Oh, that thing! Guilty as charged." He finally admitted, Lily scoffing.

"Freakin' 2 year old." She mumbled. A.I. looked over at her with an ornery smirk.

"Yeah, well at least I'm taller than a 2 year old." He whispered, Lily practically jumping out of her seat at him.

"You looking to lose some teeth, Amadeus?" She threatened. Max was laughing hysterically, leaning forwards and getting ready to watch the show. Zeus snapped his fingers, a huge roll of thunder booming through the tiny office room, startling them out of their little scuffle.

"Silence! All of you!" He yelled, his voice booming almost as loud as the thunder. Lily and A.I. both sat down grudgingly, Lily eyeing A.I. and letting him know that this wasn't over. After they settled down, Zeus stood in front of them, crossing his arms.

"From what A.I. has told me, he already told you that danger lurks right around the corner. I don't think I need to tell you how apocalyptic such a serum could be, which brings me to my proposition; I need you to help my Heroes track down and end the Syndikate once and for all, and to destroy any and all traces of this substance." Zeus explained, holding up the tiny vial Ayahna had handed him. For a moment, none of the Requiators moved. They simply looked between one another, as if silently debating the offered partnership. After what felt like an eternity, Ayahna nodded to Zeus.

"Ok. We're in. We dismantle the Syndikate, kill its leader, and destroy the serum." She affirmed, Zeus nodding. The relief was evident in his eyes, clearly thankful that they agreed to help.

"I want you to train with the other 7; get used to working together. You will leave here in 1 week. Until then, rest up and train hard. I will take this serum to Athena; she'll be able to tell us what it is made of. I will return when I learn something new." Zeus turned to leave, but A.I. stepped forwards.

"Um, Mr. UnaBroachable;" He asked, Zeus sighing deeply and pivoting on his heels.

"Yes… Amadeus." He groaned, obviously not wanting to spend any more time around A.I. than he had to.

"So, this place is broken up into Cabins based on godly heritage, and if you haven't noticed Lily and I aren't exactly 'in with the crowd', you know?" A.I. explained. Zeus nodded, catching his drift.

"I'll have it handled. Rest well and train hard; I'll see you in 1 week." Zeus ended, lighting flashing all around him. They all shielded their eyes, and when the light finally subsided, Zeus was nowhere to be found. The Reqs took this as their que to leave, exiting the Big House. Percy, Annabeth, Leo and Tyson were all standing right outside.

"So… what's up?" Leo asked, A.I. smirking at him and throwing his arm over Leo's shoulder.

"Looks like we're shackin' up here for a while; gonna go on some suicide quest with you guys." A.I. explained, Leo's face draining of color at the news.

"Yay…" Leo groaned, obviously not thrilled by the news.

"Oh, come on; it's just another quest. It'll be great. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

"We could die agonizingly painful deaths, the Syndikate could take over the known world," Ayahna began listing, A.I. laughing loudly to drown her out.

"Well, Big Bro said that he would take care of our living arrangements, so let's go give that a little peaky-poo, shall we?" A.I. suggested quickly, popping back in his headphones and pressing play, "Nightrain" by Guns 'n' Roses ringing in his ears as the Reqs followed Percy and Annabeth to the cabin area. Before they could even get there, they ran into a very out of breath camper.

"P...Percy. There you…. Are.." The boy heaved, obviously out of breath.

"A...new cabin. Just...Just appeared in between the Zeus and Hera cabins." He finished, Ayahna pushing her way past him, motioning to her group.

"That's obviously where we're staying. Come on, let's get settled." She insisted. A.I. smirked at Leo, shrugging as he walked backwards.

"Sorry, dude… duty calls. Chiao!" He waved, following the others.

"Hey Ayahna; where we gonna park the car?" A.I. asked. Soon, the Reqs. disappeared over the hill, leaving Percy, Leo, and Annabeth alone. The young boy looked down the hill, then back at Percy.

"Is that them? Those crazy dangerous killers?" He asked, Percy letting out a pent up breath he didn't even realise he had been holding.

"Yep... and now I guess they're our new guests." He grumbled. He couldn't help but notice the smile on Leo's face.

"What's got you so happy?" Annabeth asked, noticing the same thing.

"I don't know… A.I. doesn't seem so bad to me." He admitted, Percy sighing yet again. As much as he hated the thought, it looked like, at least for a while, the mercenaries were here to stay. Annabeth seemed to read his mind, standing next to him and taking his hand in hers, smiling at him reassuringly

"It'll all be fine. We'll just have to keep an eye on them." She consoled. They saw A.I. dancing his way along the path with the other Reqs in the distance, the other campers looking at him like he was insane.

"...A really close eye." Annabeth corrected.


	20. Chapter 20

Amadeus woke up the next morning, his head hanging over the side of his bed and more than a little bit disoriented. He pulled out the earbud he had left in all night, sitting up. His neck cracked in indignation, A.I. ignoring it and smirking brightly.

"Right! I totes forgot! Summer camp!" He exclaimed. Their cabin looked like your typical summer camp cabin; wooden walls with very nice furniture; 4 beds with matching nightstands, 2 couches and a flat screen tv. They also had their own mini kitchen and restroom; clearly, the gods wanted them to stay in their own room and away from the other campers as much as possible. He threw on his leather jacket, slid his drumsticks into his pocket, and strolled out the front door. A.I. pulled out his Ipod, checking the time. It was 5:01 am; way earlier than most sane teenagers even thought of waking up… but A.I. was anything but sane. He scrolled through his songs list, deciding on "Come On Get Happy." by the Partridge Family, smirking and humming along as he walked down the sidewalk path. In all honesty, he had absolutely no idea where he was going, but was going there anyways. As he was walking, he saw an empty can of Redline sitting on the top of one of the trash cans lining the path. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, grabbing it quickly, a smirk on his face as he held the can out in front of him. It slowly began uncrunching, the familiar sound of fizzy liquid filling the can once again, the top re-sealing. A.I. cracked the top, taking a drink and continuing on his way. He made his way to the beach, kicking off his shoes and sinking them into the sand with a sigh. Despite it being so early, the crisp air actually felt quite refreshing, and the sun was just beginning to rise. He sat down in a nearby beach chair, taking in the summer vibes, when he felt the presence of another person beside him, looking over to see that one kid with the messy black hair looking down on him curiously. A.I. pulled out one of his earbuds, looking up at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Percy, wasn't it? Can I help you with something in particular, or do you always hover over people like this?" A.I. asked with a smirk, Percy not seeming to find it very funny at all.

"So, you're the son of Kronos. As in, the titan Kronos?" Percy asked. Something about the tone in his voice clued Amadeus in really quickly that Percy wasn't a huge fan; it sounded almost like Kronos had done something to personally offend Percy, which really didn't surprise A.I.; the list of people his father had offended had to be at least 100 miles long.

"Mhmm. Last I checked." A.I. replied, shrugging a little bit for extra emphasis. Percy shook his head, clearly distraught.

"But… How? How is Kronos your father?" Percy asked. A.I. blinked twice, taking a drink from his can.

"Well, Percy; when a daddy titan and a mommy mortal love each other very much-" A.I. began, Percy shaking his head.

"No; not like- I didn't mean it like that. I mean HOW? Kronos didn't get a body until a few years ago." Percy explained. A.I. sighed deeply; clearly less than enthused that he had to explain this.

"MORTAL body, P.J.; Shadow entities are a completely different thing. And Father Time has had quite a few of them." A.I. said, Percy looking more confused.

"Shadow entities?" He asked, A.I. turning around in his chair and sitting up.

"Ok, imagine a puppet; not made of REAL flesh and blood, but that looks like it is; a pseudo-body. It takes quite a bit of energy to pull off, and can't be held for very long periods of time, but it allows Kronos to inhabit a "body" while not actually inhabiting a BODY. And in this short amount of time that he does have, Kronos goes to select mothers and plants a time seed within them; literally, a glowing orb that sinks into their bodies, and merges with their DNA to form a mortal half-titan child. Kronos uses these children to do his bidding on earth in his place." A.I. continued, rolling his eyes at Percy's reaction.

"No, I'm not working for him. You blew him into a good number of pieces; he won't be giving anyone orders any time soon." He finished, looking up at Percy with a smirk.

"You still don't trust me, do you?" He asked, Percy looking conflicted.

"When I look at your eyes… all I see is him. He killed so many of my friends; ruined so many lives." Percy said, clenching his fist.

"And now people expect me to just, what? Trust his son?" Percy asked. A.I. stood up, nearly nose-to-nose with Percy. He could see a certain look in Amadeus' eyes. It was the same look he saw in the mirror every time He thought about Kronos; hate.

"His son? Kronos has never done anything for me but cause me pain and misery. I shouldn't have even been born; I was nothing but a… a deal made between a mortal woman and Kronos. My mother didn't love me, or care about me; she didn't even want me! And Kronos… you already know first hand that he only cares about himself. The only thing he ever gave me were these swords, and he only gave them to me so I could become his perfect little killing machine. I hate Kronos more than you do, Percy. Trust me." He finished. For a moment, the 2 of them just stood there, until Percy stepped back.

"You're really serious, aren't you?" Percy asked, Amadeus rolling his eyes and smirking before picking up his drumsticks.

"Of course I'm serious; when am I NOT serious!" He laughed, flipping his drumsticks which transformed into his blades, then back. He slid them into his pocket, standing up and stretching.

"Well, not that this wasn't fun, but I think that I'm gonna go have a look around; hey, where do you guys do arts and crafts?" A.I. asked, Percy gesturing to one of the buildings. A.I. nodded, looking over at Percy with a smirk.

"So… you and blondie… how long has that been a thing? I believe you call it 'dating'?" A.I. asked, making air quotes around the word. Percy nodded, staring at the ground.

"About a year and a half now. But we've known each other since we were 12." He explained, A.I. looking forwards into the sky.

"That's nice. You take care of her, PJ." A.I. said almost seriously. Percy looked over at him curiously, as though putting some of the pieces together.

"You had someone you loved too, didn't you?" Percy asked. A.I. tensed up, closing his eyes tightly.

"And Goldielocks thought she was the smart one." He finally said with a smirk.

"Yeah… I did once. I don't remember her now, only how she made me feel. That was the first time I had ever felt loved…" He admitted before clearing his throat and standing up, the smirk returning.

"Well, great catching up with you… I really feel we bonded over our mutual hate and loathing of my dad. Smell ya later PJ!" A.I. said, walking down the trail from whence he came and making his way to their cabin, when suddenly someone reached out and tapped his shoulder. A.I. turned to see a girl about his age, jogging in place. She was wearing plain, black yoga pants and a lime green athletic tank top. Her dark brown hair glowed a little bit in the sunlight. She had a very petite frame, and the most emerald green eyes A.I. had ever seen. He pulled out his earbuds, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Hi, could you maybe stay to the left of the path? The right is for joggers." The girl explained. Her watch suddenly beeped, the girl pressing a button and making her way to a nearby bench, using it to stretch her legs. A.I. didn't know why, but he felt a sudden compulsion to go over and say something. The minute he got over to her, his smirk returned.

"Hey, sorry bout the whole 'getting in your way' thing. The name's A.I." He explained, sticking out his hand. The girl smiled and took it gently.

"No biggie; I'm Jennifer, but my friends call me Jen." She replied. Sje hit another timer on her watch, smiling at A.I.

"Hey… you look like a runner yourself." She stated, gesturing at his lean frame.

"Oh yeah; I've been running my whole life." He admitted with a chuckle, Jen actually laughing too.

"Well hey, if you ever want a running buddy, you know where to find me." She said, A.I. shrugging.

"I gots nothin better to do!" he exclaimed, snapping his fingers to stop time. When it restarted, he was wearing a pair of plain sweatpants and a thin muscle shirt. If Jen was shocked, she didn't show it, shrugging at his sudden change in apparel. The 2 jogged in silence for a little bit, until they made it back to A.I.'s cabin. Jen put her hands on her hips as they both stood there catching their breath.

"You're pretty fast, A.I." She chuckled, Amadeus just smirking.

"Yeah, been running since day 1." He agreed. By then, the other Reqs had woken up, Lily sitting right outside the cabin door. When she saw A.I. and Jen, she felt something very odd burning in the middle of her chest; an emotion she had never felt before. She pushed it back down as she made her way over to the 2. The minute A.I. saw her, he smirked and waved.

"That's Lily; we're pretty much like best friends." A.I. explained, Lily rolling her eyes and scoffing.

"You wish. Look, Ayahna wants us to get to the Big House.. Zeus is already there and we're late." She explained, still glaring at Jen. She didn't mean to, but something came over her when she saw that girl looking at A.I. the way she did. Without thinking, Lily reached out and grabbed A.I.'s hand, his knuckles audibly popping when she did.

"Let's go, Drumsticks." She growled, A.I. smirking at the nickname as she drug him off towards the Big House. When they got there, they were greeted once again by a very unhappy looking Zeus.

"You're late." He growled. It had been about a week since Zeus' last visit, and the Reqd had spent their time training with Percy and the others. They were very skilled fighters, but left a little to be desired. Zeus had called this mysterious audience the night before.

"Or are we early for tomorrow?" A.I. questioned with a smile. Zeus rubbed his forehead, clearly not pleased with the headache A.I. caused.

"Today, you will set off on your mission. My son Jason and his friends are standing by in case something goes wrong, as are Percy Jackson and others here at camp, but for now this mission is up you 4." Zeus explained. Lily looked over at A.I. questioningly. He didn't look at all surprised that it would be just the 4 of them on this quest.

"I thought you said that our mission was to help that Jackson guy?" She said, A.I. nodding.

"Yep. And this is how we help. I told you, I can't give you details about the future until it happens." He reminded.

"I do not know where the Syndikate is based now, but perhaps you may find a clue in their last known location: Somewhere in the Rocky Mountain system in Colorado." Zeus explained, reaching out and handing Ayahna a faded map.

"You will leave here tonight. I will be watching over you during your quest… if the Syndikate has truly found a way to make mortals as powerful as demigods, we need to know how. Your mission-"

"If we choose to accept it. NAILED IT!" A.I. interrupted, Zeus just sighed, accepting the fact that it would never change

"Is to find and infiltrate the Syndikate base; find and retrieve the source of that serum, and destroy it for good." He finished. For a moment, no one spoke, until Ayahna stepped forwards.

"We accept your mission, Lord Zeus… under one condition." Ayahna said. A.I.'s smirk seemed to grow even wider.

"Here it comes!" He whispered excitedly. Zeus raised an eyebrow curiously.

"When we are finished, my friends and I must be allowed to find and eliminate the Syndikate leader." She explained.

"Very well. Your terms are reasonable." Zeus agreed.

"Now go, prepare yourselves for your quest." He finished, disappearing in a bolt of lightning. Ayahna turned to the others, a stern look on her face.

"You heard him. Let's go get packed up." She commanded. Once again, it was just the 4 of them, facing down an impossible task with unbeatable odds… some things never change.


End file.
